Diazotrophs and N₂-Fixation Associated With Particles in Coastal Estuarine Waters.

ABSTRACT: Putative heterotrophic bacteria carrying out N₂-fixation, so-called non-cyanobacterial diazotrophs (NCDs), are widely distributed in marine waters, but details of how the O₂-inhibited N₂-fixation process is promoted in the oxic water column remains ambiguous. Here we carried out two experiments with water from a eutrophic temperate fjord to examine whether low-oxygen microenvironments within particulate organic matter could be loci suitable for N₂-fixation. First, water enriched with natural particles or sediment showed higher N₂-fixation rates than bulk water, and nitrogenase genes (nifH) revealed that specific diazotrophs were affiliated with the particulate matter. Second, pristine artificial surfaces were rapidly colonized b

SUBMITTER: Pedersen JN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6250843 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature