Apparent contradiction: psychrotolerant bacteria from hydrocarbon-contaminated arctic tundra soils that degrade diterpenoids synthesized by trees.

ABSTRACT: Resin acids are tricyclic terpenoids occurring naturally in trees. We investigated the occurrence of resin acid-degrading bacteria on the Arctic tundra near the northern coast of Ellesmere Island (82 degrees N, 62 degrees W). According to most-probable-number assays, resin acid degraders were abundant (10(3) to 10(4) propagules/g of soil) in hydrocarbon-contaminated soils, but they were undetectable (<3 propagules/g of soil) in pristine soils from the nearby tundra. Plate counts indicated that the contaminated and the pristine soils had similar populations of heterotrophs (10(6) to 10(7) propagules/g of soil). Eleven resin acid-degrading bacteria belonging to four phylogenetically distinct groups were enriched and isolated from the contaminated soils, and representative isolates of each gr

SUBMITTER: Yu Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC92436 | biostudies-literature | 2000 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature