Short Note Abundance of aerobic anoxygenic bacteria in freshwater lakes on James Ross Island, Antarctic Peninsula
Abstract
Aerobic anoxygenic phototrophic (AAP) bacteria are common in oceanic planktonic communities, as well as in limnic habitats (Mašín et al. 2008, Medová et al. 2011, Čuperová et al. 2013). They require organic substrates for respiration and growth, but are able to obtain cellular energy from light using bacteriochlorophyll a-containing reaction centres (Yurkov & Csotonyi 2009).
The presence of AAP bacteria in polar lakes was first documented by Labrenz et al. (2009) who isolated four aerobic bacteriochlorophyll a-producing strains (Roseisalinus antarcticus, Roseibaca ekhonensis, Roseovarius tolerans, Staleya guttiformis) from the meromictic hypersaline heliothermal Ekho Lake. These isolates represent psychrotolerant organisms with growth temperatures of 3-35oC.
Most studies of aerobic phototrophs have been conducted in tropical and temperate regions. Here, we provide the first enumeration of AAP bacteria in Antarctic polar lakes.