Sulfate-reducing bacteria in tubes constructed by the marine infaunal polychaete Diopatra cuprea.

ABSTRACT: Marine infaunal burrows and tubes greatly enhance solute transport between sediments and the overlying water column and are sites of elevated microbial activity. Biotic and abiotic controls of the compositions and activities of burrow and tube microbial communities are poorly understood. The microbial communities in tubes of the marine infaunal polychaete Diopatria cuprea collected from two different sediment habitats were examined. The bacterial communities in the tubes from a sandy sediment differed from those in the tubes from a muddy sediment. The difference in community structure also extended to the sulfate-reducing bacterial (SRB) assemblage, although it was not as pronounced for this functional group of species. PCR-amplified 16S rRNA gene sequences recovered from Diopatra tube SRB

SUBMITTER: Matsui GY 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC535212 | biostudies-literature | 2004 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature