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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, October 2005, p. 5900-5907, Vol. 71, No. 10
0099-2240/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.71.10.5900-5907.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Ecological Differentiation within a Cosmopolitan Group of Planktonic Freshwater Bacteria (SOL Cluster, Saprospiraceae, Bacteroidetes){dagger}

Michael Schauer,1* Christian Kamenik,2 and Martin W. Hahn1

Institute for Limnology, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Mondseestrasse 9, 5310 Mondsee, Austria,1 Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, 3013 Bern, Switzerland2

Received 16 March 2005/ Accepted 3 May 2005

Members of the monophyletic SOL cluster are large filamentous bacteria inhabiting the pelagic zone of many freshwater habitats. The abundances of SOL bacteria and compositions of SOL communities in samples from 115 freshwater ecosystems around the globe were determined by fluorescence in situ hybridization with cluster- and subcluster-specific oligonucleotide probes. The vast majority (73%) of sampled ecosystems harbored SOL bacteria, and all three previously described SOL subclusters (LD2, HAL, and GKS2-217) were detected. The morphometric and chemicophysical parameters and trophic statuses of ecosystems were related to the occurrence and subcluster-specific composition of SOL bacteria by multivariate statistical methods. SOL bacteria did not occur in acidic lakes (pH < 6), and their abundance was negatively related to high trophy and pH. The subcluster-specific variation in the compositions of SOL communities could be related to the pH, electrical conductivity, altitude, and trophic status of ecosystems. All three known SOL subclusters differed in respect to their tolerated ranges of pH and conductivity. Complete niche separation was observed between the vicarious subclusters GKS2-217 and LD2; the former occurred in soft-water lakes, whereas the latter was found in a broad range of hard-water habitats. The third subgroup (HAL) showed a wide environmental tolerance and was usually found sympatrically with the LD2 or GKS2-217 subcluster. Ecological differentiation of SOL bacteria at the subcluster level was most probably driven by differential adaptation to water chemistry. The distribution of the two vicarious taxa seems to be predominantly controlled by the geological backgrounds of the catchment areas of the habitats.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Institute for Limnology, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Mondseestrasse 9, 5310 Mondsee, Austria. Phone: 43 6232 3125 45. Fax: 43 6232 3578. E-mail: michael.schauer{at}oeaw.ac.at.

{dagger} Supplemental material for this article may be found at http://aem.asm.org/.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, October 2005, p. 5900-5907, Vol. 71, No. 10
0099-2240/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.71.10.5900-5907.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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