This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Reprints and Permissions Copyright Information Books from ASM Press MicrobeWorld Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Asami, H. Articles by Watanabe, K. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Asami, H. Articles by Watanabe, K. Agricola Articles by Asami, H. Articles by Watanabe, K.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, June 2005, p. 2925-2933, Vol. 71, No. 6
0099-2240/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.71.6.2925-2933.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Accelerated Sulfur Cycle in Coastal Marine Sediment beneath Areas of Intensive Shellfish Aquaculture

Laboratory of Applied Microbiology, Marine Biotechnology Institute, Heita, Kamaishi, Iwate 026-0001,¹ Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Kanazawa University, Kakuma, Kanazawa, Ishikawa 920-1192, Japan²

Received 3 October 2004/ Accepted 22 December 2004

Prokaryotes in marine sediments taken from two neighboring semienclosed bays (the Yamada and Kamaishi bays) at the Sanriku coast in Japan were investigated by the culture-independent molecular phylogenetic approach coupled with chemical and activity analyses. These two bays were chosen in terms of their similar hydrogeological and chemical characteristics but different usage modes; the Yamada bay has been used for intensive shellfish aquaculture, while the Kamaishi bay has a commercial port and is not used for aquaculture. Substantial differences were found in the phylogenetic composition of 16S rRNA gene clone libraries constructed for the Yamada and Kamaishi sediments. In the Yamada library, phylotypes affiliated with -Proteobacteria were the most abundant, and those affiliated with -Proteobacteria were the second-most abundant. In contrast, the Kamaishi library was occupied by phylotypes affiliated with Planctomycetes, -Proteobacteria, -Proteobacteria, and Crenarchaeota. In the -Proteobacteria, many Yamada phylotypes were related to free-living and symbiotic sulfur oxidizers, whereas the Kamaishi phylotype was related to the genus Pseudomonas. These results allowed us to hypothesize that sulfate-reducing and sulfur-oxidizing bacteria have become abundant in the Yamada sediment. This hypothesis was supported by quantitative competitive PCR (qcPCR) with group-specific primers. The qcPCR also suggested that organisms closely related to Desulfotalea in the Desulfobulbaceae were the major sulfate-reducing bacteria in these sediments. In addition, potential sulfate reduction and sulfur oxidation rates in the sediment samples were determined, indicating that the sulfur cycle has become active in the Yamada sediment beneath the areas of intensive shellfish aquaculture.

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Mills, H. J., Hunter, E., Humphrys, M., Kerkhof, L., McGuinness, L., Huettel, M., Kostka, J. E. (2008). Characterization of Nitrifying, Denitrifying, and Overall Bacterial Communities in Permeable Marine Sediments of the Northeastern Gulf of Mexico. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 74: 4440-4453 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Hunter, E. M., Mills, H. J., Kostka, J. E. (2006). Microbial Community Diversity Associated with Carbon and Nitrogen Cycling in Permeable Shelf Sediments. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 72: 5689-5701 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Brodie, E. L., DeSantis, T. Z., Joyner, D. C., Baek, S. M., Larsen, J. T., Andersen, G. L., Hazen, T. C., Richardson, P. M., Herman, D. J., Tokunaga, T. K., Wan, J. M., Firestone, M. K. (2006). Application of a High-Density Oligonucleotide Microarray Approach To Study Bacterial Population Dynamics during Uranium Reduction and Reoxidation. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 72: 6288-6298 [Abstract] [Full Text]