Skip to main content
Applied and Environmental Microbiology logoLink to Applied and Environmental Microbiology
. 1987 Feb;53(2):274–277. doi: 10.1128/aem.53.2.274-277.1987

Particle Counter Determination of Bacterial Biomass in Seawater

Kazuhiro Kogure 1,*, Isao Koike 1
PMCID: PMC203651  PMID: 16347275

Abstract

The applicability of the Elzone particle counter to the determination of marine bacterial biomass was investigated. The biomass of bacterial pure cultures and a mixed natural population were followed by using the particle counter, a CHN analyzer, and an ATP analyzer. The particle counter showed the precise size distribution of number and volume of submicron-size particles in seawater. For the pure cultured bacterial strains, the conversion factor from volume to carbon is 0.209 mg of C per mm3, and for natural bacterial cells of >0.6 μm in diameter, it is 0.184 mg of C per mm3. It is recommended that 0.2 be used as the conversion factor for both pure cultured marine bacterial cells and natural bacteria from coastal and near-shore marine environments.

Full text

PDF

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Bjørnsen P. K. Automatic determination of bacterioplankton biomass by image analysis. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1986 Jun;51(6):1199–1204. doi: 10.1128/aem.51.6.1199-1204.1986. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Bratbak G. Bacterial biovolume and biomass estimations. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1985 Jun;49(6):1488–1493. doi: 10.1128/aem.49.6.1488-1493.1985. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Bratbak G., Dundas I. Bacterial dry matter content and biomass estimations. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1984 Oct;48(4):755–757. doi: 10.1128/aem.48.4.755-757.1984. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Hobbie J. E., Daley R. J., Jasper S. Use of nuclepore filters for counting bacteria by fluorescence microscopy. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1977 May;33(5):1225–1228. doi: 10.1128/aem.33.5.1225-1228.1977. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Krambeck C., Krambeck H. J., Overbeck J. Microcomputer-assisted biomass determination of plankton bacteria on scanning electron micrographs. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1981 Jul;42(1):142–149. doi: 10.1128/aem.42.1.142-149.1981. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Montesinos E., Esteve I., Guerrero R. Comparison between direct methods for determination of microbial cell volume: electron microscopy and electronic particle sizing. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1983 May;45(5):1651–1658. doi: 10.1128/aem.45.5.1651-1658.1983. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Novitsky J. A., Morita R. Y. Morphological characterization of small cells resulting from nutrient starvation of a psychrophilic marine vibrio. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1976 Oct;32(4):617–622. doi: 10.1128/aem.32.4.617-622.1976. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Sieracki M. E., Johnson P. W., Sieburth J. M. Detection, enumeration, and sizing of planktonic bacteria by image-analyzed epifluorescence microscopy. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1985 Apr;49(4):799–810. doi: 10.1128/aem.49.4.799-810.1985. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Watson S. W., Novitsky T. J., Quinby H. L., Valois F. W. Determination of bacterial number and biomass in the marine environment. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1977 Apr;33(4):940–946. doi: 10.1128/aem.33.4.940-946.1977. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Applied and Environmental Microbiology are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES