Frequency of dividing cells a new approach to the determination of bacterial growth rates in aquatic environments

• Frequency of dividing cells is suggested to be an indirect measureof the mean growth rate of an aquatic bacterial community. Seasonalchanges in frequency of dividing cells were found which covariatedwith the bacterial uptake of 14C-labeled phytoplankton exudates.Batch and continuous culture growth experiments, using brackishwater bacteria in pure and mixed enrichment cultures, were performedto establish a relationship between frequency of dividing cellsand growth rate. An improved technique for bacterial directcounts, using fluorescent staining and epifluorescence microscopy,is presented. Based on a 6-month survey in a coastal area ofthe Baltic Sea, the bacterial production in the photic zoneis estimated. Compared to the total primary production in thearea, the bacterial population during this period utilized approximately25% of the amount of carbon originally fixed by the primaryproducers.

Ämnesord

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Biologi -- Mikrobiologi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Biological Sciences -- Microbiology (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Microbiology

Mikrobiologi

Mikrobiologi

Microbiology

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