Autotrophic potential in mesophilic heterotrophic bacterial isolates from Sino-Pacific marine sediments

Abstract

Microbial carbon fixation is a paramount process in the ocean especially below the photic zone both in water and sedimentary ecosystems. Autotrophic microbes that fix carbon dioxide are renowned. However, the question whether heterotrophs can also fix carbon is intriguing. Ten heterotrophically grown, identified bacterial isolates from the Sino-Pacific marine sediments were tested for autotrophic uptake potential with and without addition of electron donors. Nine of the ten isolates showed carbon uptake capacity without addition of any substrate at very low rates in the order of 10–8 to 10–4 fmol/(cell·h). The addition of manganese and ammonium at 1 mmol/L final concentration enhanced the uptake potential. Addition of 1 mmol/L final concentrations of reduced iron (10–6 to 10–5 fmol/(cell·h) and sulfide (10–5 fmol/(cell·h) decreased the uptake potential significantly at p<0.1. Bacterial tolerance to formaldehyde suggested propensities of anaplerotic chemical reactions that form metabolic intermediates of C-1 metabolism pathways. The isolates displayed high metabolic flexibility. With the changes in electron donors, the isolates metabolically toggled between relatively anoxic reductive iron/sulfur cycles and the oxidative cycles of manganese/ammonium and vice-versa. This property makes these microbes successful survivors in the highly dynamic Sino-Pacific sediments.