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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, April 2000, p. 1479-1488, Vol. 66, No. 4
0099-2240/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Sediment Microbial Community Structure and Mercury Methylation in Mercury-Polluted Clear Lake, California

J. L. Macalady,1,* E. E. Mack,2,dagger D. C. Nelson,2 and K. M. Scow1

Department of Land, Air and Water Resources1 and Department of Microbiology,2 University of California, Davis, California 95616

Received 14 October 1999/Accepted 25 January 2000

Spatial and temporal variations in sediment microbial community structure in a eutrophic lake polluted with inorganic mercury were identified using polar lipid fatty acid (PLFA) analysis. Microbial community structure was strongly related to mercury methylation potential, sediment organic carbon content, and lake location. Pore water sulfate, total mercury concentrations, and organic matter C/N ratios showed no relationships with microbial community structure. Seasonal changes and changes potentially attributable to temperature regulation of bacterial membranes were detectable but were less important influences on sediment PLFA composition than were differences due to lake sampling location. Analysis of biomarker PLFAs characteristic of Desulfobacter and Desulfovibrio groups of sulfate-reducing bacteria suggests that Desulfobacter-like organisms are important mercury methylators in the sediments, especially in the Lower Arm of Clear Lake.


* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Land, Air and Water Resources, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616. Phone: (530) 752-0146. Fax: (530) 752-1552. E-mail: jlmacalady{at}ucdavis.edu.

dagger Present address: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Exposure Research Laboratory---Ecosystem Research Division, Athens, GA 30605.


Applied and Environmental Microbiology, April 2000, p. 1479-1488, Vol. 66, No. 4
0099-2240/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.



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