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. 1986 Jan;51(1):157–162. doi: 10.1128/aem.51.1.157-162.1986

Activity Measurements of Planktonic Microbial and Microfouling Communities in a Eutrophic Estuary

Wade H Jeffrey 1,*, John H Paul 1
PMCID: PMC238833  PMID: 16346965

Abstract

[3H]thymidine incorporation, the rate of reduction of iodonitrotetrazolium violet (INT) to INT formazan normalized to DNA, and the ratio of ATP to DNA were adapted to measure the activity of attached and unattached microbial assemblages of Bayboro Harbor, Fla. Activity measurements by [3H]thymidine incorporation were made of cells attached to polystyrene culture dishes, in unfiltered water samples, and in the <1-μm-filtered fraction. In most cases, the activity of attached cells was greater than that of unattached cells either in unfiltered water samples or in the <1-μm fraction. The calculated thymidine incorporation rates for cells in the >1-μm fraction were higher than those for cells either in unfiltered water or in the <1-μm-filtered fraction. By the rate of reduction of INT to INT formazan normalized to DNA and by ATP-to-DNA ratios, attached cells were also more active than cells in unfiltered water samples. These results indicate that the microenvironment afforded by attachment is a more beneficial habitat for microbial growth. Reasons for greater activity by natural populations of attached bacteria are discussed.

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Selected References

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

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