Humic substances and aquatic microbial ecology - comparisons in ecosystems of Korea and Germany

TERRECO WP 2-03

From 03/2009 to 12/2013

Principal Investigator: Tae Seok Ahn, Stefan Peiffer
Grant: IRTG 1565 WP II TERRECO - Complex Terrain and Ecological Heterogeneity - Evaluating ecosystem services in production versus water yield and water quality in mountainous landscapes

Goal within the TERRECO Assessments:

• Examine key enzymes for mineralization, for phosphate uptake and for denitrification as indicators of soil fertility and ecosystem health in different land use within Haean and Eger Basins and in Soyang River and Lake.

Doctoral stipend financed by KOSEF (Korea).

 

Abstract 2013: We performed a comparative analysis of bacterial diversity in a saline and soda lake by using a novel cultivation method termed the filter plate microbial trap method (FPMT), conventional techniques and DGGE.  The new method allowed for cultivation of representatives of seven bacterial phyla, including seven novel species. This compares favorably to cultivation of representatives of four phyla and only one novel species by standard approaches.  Neither culture collection matched the community composition revealed by DGGE, but FPMT method produced a more representative collection of strains.  We conclude that FPMT is powerful device for improving bacterial culturability and narrowing the gap between microbial diversity in nature and cultivable microorganisms.

Key words: bacterial diversity, DGGE, improved culturability, soda lake

Poster Workshop Ecosystem Change and Society, Bayreuth, January 2013