Changes in ester-linked phospholipid fatty acid profiles of subsurface bacteria during starvation and desiccation in a porous medium
- New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro, NM (United States)
- Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States)
Ester-linked phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) profiles of a Pseudomonas aureofaciens strain and an Arthrobacter protophormiae strain, each isolated from a subsurface sediment, were quantified in a starvation experiment in a silica sand porous medium under moist and dry conditions. Washed cells were added to sand microcosms and maintained under saturated conditions or subjected to desiccation by slow drying over a period of 16 days. In a third treatment, cells were added to saturated microcosms along with organic nutrients and maintained under saturated conditions. The numbers of culturable cells of both bacterial strains declined to below detection level within 16 days in both the moist and dried nutrient-deprived conditions, while direct counts and total PLFAs remained relatively constant. Both strains of bacteria maintained culturability in the nutrient-amended microcosms. The dried P. aureofaciens cells showed increased ratios of saturated to unsaturated fatty acids, increased ratios of trans- to cis-monoenoic fatty acids, and increased ratios of cyclopropyl fatty acids to their monoenoic precursors. P. aureofaciens starved under moist conditions showed few changes in PLFA profiles during the 16-day incubation, whereas cells incubated in the presence of nutrients showed decreases in the ratios of both saturated fatty acids to unsaturated fatty acids and cyclopropyl fatty acids to their monoenoic precursors. The PLFA profiles of A. protophormiae changed very little in response to either nutrient deprivation or desiccation. Diglyceride fatty acids, proposedindicators of dead or lysed cells, remained relatively constant throughout the experiment. The results of this laboratory experiment can be useful for interpreting PLFA profiles of subsurface communities of microorganisms for the purpose of determining their physiological status. 43 refs., 8 figs.
- DOE Contract Number:
- FG03-93ER61683; FG05-90ER60988
- OSTI ID:
- 111395
- Journal Information:
- Applied and Environmental Microbiology, Vol. 60, Issue 9; Other Information: PBD: Sep 1994
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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