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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, April 2006, p. 2679-2690, Vol. 72, No. 4
0099-2240/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.72.4.2679-2690.2006
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Comparison of Vertical Distributions of Prokaryotic Assemblages in the Anoxic Cariaco Basin and Black Sea by Use of Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization

Marine Sciences Research Center, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York 11794-5000,¹ Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, 10 Ocean Science Circle, Savannah, Georgia 31411,² Estación de Investigaciones Marinas de Margarita, Fundación La Salle de Ciencias Naturales, Apartado 144, Punta de Piedras, Edo. Nueva Esparta, Venezuela,³ Department of Biology, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Lafayette, Louisiana 70504⁴

Received 14 November 2005/ Accepted 6 February 2006

Individual prokaryotic cells from two major anoxic basins, the Cariaco Basin and the Black Sea, were enumerated throughout their water columns using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with the fluorochrome Cy3 or horseradish peroxidase-modified oligonucleotide probes. For both basins, significant differences in total prokaryotic abundance and phylogenetic composition were observed among oxic, anoxic, and transitional (redoxcline) waters. Epsilon-proteobacteria, Crenarchaeota, and Euryarchaeota were more prevalent in the redoxclines, where previous studies reported high rates of chemoautotrophic production relative to those in waters above and below the redoxclines. Relative abundances of Archaea in both systems varied between 1% and 28% of total prokaryotes, depending on depth. The prokaryotic community composition varied between the two anoxic basins, consistent with distinct geochemical and physical conditions. In the Black Sea, the relative contributions of group I Crenarchaeota (median, 5.5%) to prokaryotic communities were significantly higher (P < 0.001; n = 20) than those of group II Euryarchaeota (median, 2.9%). In contrast, their proportions were nearly equivalent in the Cariaco Basin. Beta-proteobacteria were unexpectedly common throughout the Cariaco Basin's water column, accounting for an average of 47% of 4',6'-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI)-stained cells. This group was below the detection limit (<1%) in the Black Sea samples. Compositional differences between basins may reflect temporal variability in microbial populations and/or systematic differences in environmental conditions and the populations for which they select.

This is Marine Sciences Research Center contribution 1312.

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