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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, July 2007, p. 4648-4657, Vol. 73, No. 14
0099-2240/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.02774-06
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Potential Interactions of Particle-Associated Anammox Bacteria with Bacterial and Archaeal Partners in the Namibian Upwelling System{triangledown}

Dagmar Woebken, Bernhard M. Fuchs,* Marcel M. M. Kuypers, and Rudolf Amann

Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, Celsiusstr. 1, 28359 Bremen, Germany

Received 28 November 2006/ Accepted 18 May 2007

Recent studies have shown that the anaerobic oxidation of ammonium by anammox bacteria plays an important role in catalyzing the loss of nitrogen from marine oxygen minimum zones (OMZ). However, in situ oxygen concentrations of up to 25 µM and ammonium concentrations close to or below the detection limit in the layer of anammox activity are hard to reconcile with the current knowledge of the physiology of anammox bacteria. We therefore investigated samples from the Namibian OMZ by comparative 16S rRNA gene analysis and fluorescence in situ hybridization. Our results showed that "Candidatus Scalindua" spp., the typical marine anammox bacteria, colonized microscopic particles that were likely the remains of either macroscopic marine snow particles or resuspended particles. These particles were slightly but significantly (P < 0.01) enriched in Gammaproteobacteria (11.8% ± 5.0%) compared to the free-water phase (8.1% ± 1.8%). No preference for the attachment to particles could be observed for members of the Alphaproteobacteria and Bacteroidetes, which were abundant (12 to 17%) in both habitats. The alphaproteobacterial SAR11 clade, the Euryarchaeota, and group I Crenarchaeota, were all significantly depleted in particles compared to their presence in the free-water phase (16.5% ± 3.5% versus 2.6% ± 1.7%, 2.7% ± 1.9% versus <1%, and 14.9% ± 4.6% versus 2.2% ± 1.8%, respectively, all P < 0.001). Sequence analysis of the crenarchaeotal 16S rRNA genes showed a 99% sequence identity to the nitrifying "Nitrosopumilus maritimus." Even though we could not observe conspicuous consortium-like structures of anammox bacteria with particle-enriched bacterioplankton groups, we hypothesize that members of Gammaproteobacteria, Alphaproteobacteria, and Bacteroidetes play a critical role in extending the anammox reaction to nutrient-depleted suboxic water layers in the Namibian upwelling system by creating anoxic, nutrient-enriched microniches.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, Molecular Ecology, Celsiusstr. 1, 28359 Bremen, Germany. Phone: 49-421-2028-935. Fax: 49-421-2028-790. E-mail: bfuchs{at}mpi-bremen.de

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 25 May 2007.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, July 2007, p. 4648-4657, Vol. 73, No. 14
0099-2240/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.02774-06
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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