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Exploring Bacterioplankton Growth and Protein Synthesis to Determine Conversion Factors Across a Gradient of Dissolved Organic Matter

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Abstract

The effect of bacterial specific growth rates of abundance (µ) and protein synthesis (b) on conversion factor (CF) variability was explored in order to provide an alternative approach to the controversial application of just one universal CF to field data. Nine regrowth cultures (RCs) were set up from very diverse aquatic ecosystems, controlling temperature and adding N and P to avoid mineral limitation and force organic carbon limitation. The values of µ varied one order of magnitude from 0.26 to 3.34 d−1, whereas b values varied two orders of magnitude from 0.28 to 34.87 d−1. We found no relationships between µ or b values and the dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration or the dissolved organic matter (DOM) quality indexes assayed. Abundance and protein synthesis increased exponentially and synchronously in four RCs, leading to balanced growth (µ = b). In contrast, abundance and protein synthesis increased logistically in the other five RCs and b values were significantly higher than µ values, leading to unbalanced growth (µ ≠ b). CFS ranged from 0.0062 to 0.0576 × 1018 cells mol leucine−1 with an average of 0.0305 × 1018 cells mol leucine−1. CFs obtained in RCs with balanced growth were generally higher than CFs obtained in RCs with unbalanced growth and were not alike, impeding the establishment of an upper limit for CFs. A positive and significant relationship (n = 8, p < 0.01**, r 2 = 0.71) was found between CFs and DOC concentration (CF (×1018 cells mol leucine−1) = 0.0104 + 0.0094 DOC (mM)) when the value for the most productive system was excluded. This function permits the estimation of site-specific CFs based on DOC concentration instead of the controversial use of a single CF for different systems.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Dr. J.M. Conde-Porcuna, Dr. P. Carrillo, and J.A. Delgado for their assistance in the field. DOC samples were kindly analyzed in the labs of Dr. M.L. Pace (samples from all systems except the alpine lake) and Dr. R. Sommaruga (samples from the alpine lake). We are grateful to Dr. Michael L. Pace and two anonymous reviewers for insightful comments and to Richard Davies for assistance with the English version. This research was supported by Projects AMB 99-0541 and EVK-CT1999-00046.

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  1. Departamento de Biología Animal y Ecología, Universidad de Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain

    E. Pulido-Villena & I. Reche

  2. Instituto del Agua, Universidad de Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain

    I. Reche

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  1. E. Pulido-Villena
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Correspondence to I. Reche .

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Pulido-Villena, E., Reche , I. Exploring Bacterioplankton Growth and Protein Synthesis to Determine Conversion Factors Across a Gradient of Dissolved Organic Matter . Microb Ecol 46, 33–42 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-002-0004-9

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