1887

Abstract

The sources of sulphide which appeared in the profundal zone of Blelham Tarn (English Lake District) were investigated. In experimental sediment cores, the absence of sulphate in the overlying water resulted in a drastic decrease in the release of sulphide, which suggested that sulphate reduction was a major contributor to the process. The quantity of suphide produced was much less than that of sulphate removed. This, and the inability to detect free sulphide in sediment interstitial water, was attributed to its rapid precipitation as FeS. In the absence of sulphate, production of sulphide would be from organic sources such as protein. Most probable number estimates indicated that the population of bacteria capable of producing sulphide from cysteine was much larger than that of sulphate reducers. Trace additions of S-labelled sulphate, cysteine and methionine were used to determine their turnover time to sulphide. Sulphate was turned over the fastest and methionine the slowest, and the turnover time was always shorter in profundal sediment. Poor recoveries of added label from littoral sediments were thought to be due to adsorption and higher rates of assimilation. Estimates of flux based on concentrations of sulphate and organic sulphur suggested that putrefaction was a more important source of sulphide in the littoral zone but contributed less than sulphate reduction in the profundal sediments.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journal/micro/10.1099/00221287-128-12-2833
1982-12-01
2024-04-20
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

/deliver/fulltext/micro/128/12/mic-128-12-2833.html?itemId=/content/journal/micro/10.1099/00221287-128-12-2833&mimeType=html&fmt=ahah

References

  1. Davison W., Heaney S. I., Talling J. F., Rigg E. 1981; Seasonal transformations and movements of iron in a productive English lake with deep water anoxia. Schweizerische Zeitschrift für Hydrologie 42:196–224
    [Google Scholar]
  2. Fenchel T. M., Jørgensen B. B. 1977; Detritus food chains of aquatic ecosystems: the role of bacteria. Advances in Microbial Ecology 1:1–58
    [Google Scholar]
  3. Forsberg C. W. 1980; Sulfide production from cysteine by Desutfovibrio desulfuricans. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 39:453–455
    [Google Scholar]
  4. Fowden L. 1962; Amino acids and proteins. In Physiology and Biochemistry of Algae pp. 189–209 Lewin R. A. Edited by New York: Academic Press;
    [Google Scholar]
  5. Ingvorsen K., Zeikus J. G., Brock T. D. 1981; Dynamics of bacterial sulfate reduction in a eutrophic lake. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 42:1029–1036
    [Google Scholar]
  6. Jones J. G., Simon B. M. 1980; Decomposition processes in the profundal region of Blelham Tarn and the Lund tubes. Journal of Ecology 68:493–512
    [Google Scholar]
  7. Jones J. G., Simon B. M. 1981; Differences in microbial decomposition processes in profundal and littoral lake sediments, with particular reference to the nitrogen cycle. Journal of General Microbiology 123:297–312
    [Google Scholar]
  8. Jones J. G., Simon B. M., Horsley R. W. 1982; Microbiological sources of ammonia in freshwater lake sediments. Journal of General Microbiology 128:2823–2831
    [Google Scholar]
  9. Jørgensen B. B. 1978; A comparison of methods for the quantification of bacterial sulfate reduction in coastal marine sediments. I. Measurement with radiotracer techniques. Geomicrobiology Journal 1:11–27
    [Google Scholar]
  10. Latham M. J., Wolin M. J. 1978; Use of serum bottle technique to study interactions between strict anaerobes in mixed culture. In Techniques for the Study of Mixed Populations (Society for Applied Bacteriology Technical Series 11) pp. 113–124 Lovelock D. W., Davies R. Edited by London: Academic Press;
    [Google Scholar]
  11. Mackereth F. J. H. 1966; Some chemical observations on post-glacial sediments. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B250:165–213
    [Google Scholar]
  12. Mortimer C. H. 1941; The exchange of dissolved substances between mud and water in lakes.I and II. Journal of Ecology 29:280–329
    [Google Scholar]
  13. Mortimer C. H. 1942; The exchange of dissolved substances between mud and water in lakes.III and IV. Journal of Ecology 30:147–201
    [Google Scholar]
  14. Molongoski J. J., Klug M. J. 1980; Anaerobic metabolism of particulate organic matter in the sediments of a hypereutrophic lake. Freshwater Biology 10:507–518
    [Google Scholar]
  15. Nedwell D. B., Floodgate G. D. 1972; Temperature induced changes in the formation of sulphide in a marine sediment. Marine Biology 14:18–24
    [Google Scholar]
  16. Nriagu J. O. 1968; Sulfur metabolism and sedimentary environment: Lake Mendota, Wisconsin. Limnology and Oceanography 13:430–439
    [Google Scholar]
  17. Patel G. B., Khan A. W., Roth L. A. 1978; Optimum levels of sulphate and iron for the cultivation of pure cultures of methanogens in synthetic media. Journal of Applied Bacteriology 45:347–356
    [Google Scholar]
  18. Pfennig N., Widdel F. 1981; Ecology and physiology of some anaerobic bacteria from the microbial sulfur cycle. In Biology of Inorganic Nitrogen and Sulfur pp. 169–177 Bothe H., Trebst A. Edited by Berlin: Springer-Verlag;
    [Google Scholar]
  19. Postgate J. R. 1963; Versatile medium for the enumeration of sulfate-reducing bacteria. Applied Microbiology 11:265–267
    [Google Scholar]
  20. Rees R. D., Gyllenspetz A. B., Docherty A. C. 1971; The determination of trace amounts of sulphide in condensed steam with N,N-diethyl-p-phenylenediamine. Analyst 96:201–208
    [Google Scholar]
  21. Rowlatt S. M. 1980 Geochemical studies of recent lake sediment from Cumbria, England Ph.D. thesis University of Liverpool:
    [Google Scholar]
  22. Smith R. L., Klug M. J. 1981; Reduction of sulfur compounds in the sediments of a eutrophic lake basin. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 41:1230–1237
    [Google Scholar]
  23. Tabatabai M. A. 1974; Determination of sulfate in water samples. Sulfur Institute Journal 10:11–13
    [Google Scholar]
  24. Wolin E. A., Wolin M. J., Wolfe R. S. 1963; Formation of methane by bacterial extracts. Journal of Biological Chemistry 238:2882–2886
    [Google Scholar]
  25. Zinder S. H., Brock T. D. 1978; Methane, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen sulfide production from the terminal methiol group of methionine by anaerobic lake sediments. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 35:344–352
    [Google Scholar]
http://instance.metastore.ingenta.com/content/journal/micro/10.1099/00221287-128-12-2833
Loading
/content/journal/micro/10.1099/00221287-128-12-2833
Loading

Data & Media loading...

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a Success
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error