Abstract
Microorganisms play a vital role in the biogeochemical cycles of various marine environments, but studies on occurrence and distribution of such bacteria in the marine environment from India are meager. We studied the phosphate solubilizing property of bacteria from the deep sea sediment of Bay of Bengal, India, to understand their role in phosphorous cycle (and thereby the benthic productivity of the deep sea environment). Sediment samples were obtained from 33 stations between 10 degrees 36'N-20 degrees 01' N and 79 degrees 59' E-87 degrees 30' E along 11 transects at 3 different depths i.e. ca. 200 m, 500 m, 1000 m in each transect. Total heterotrophic bacterial (THB) counts ranged from 0.42 to 37.38 x 10(4) CFU g(-1) dry sediment weight. Of the isolates tested, 7.57% showed the phosphate solubilizing property. The phosphate solubilizing bacterial genera were Pseudomonas, Bacillus, Vibrio, Alcaligenes, Micrococcus, Corynebacterium and Flavobacterium. These strains are good solubilizers of phosphates which ultimately may play a major role in the biogeochemical cycle and the benthic productivity of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of Bay of Bengal, because this enzyme is important for the slow, but steady regeneration of phosphate and organic carbon in the deep sea.
Highlights
Microorganisms play a vital role in the biogeochemical cycles of various marine environments
Phosphorous cycle interacts with the carbon cycle (Thingstad and Rassoulzadegan 1995), which may be important for C-limited bacteria in the deep sea (Hoppe and Ullrich 1999)
The higher solubilization index was noticed in the bacterial strains isolated from ca. 200 m depth whereas lower solubilization index was found in the strains isolated from ca. 1000 m depth
Summary
Microorganisms play a vital role in the biogeochemical cycles of various marine environments. The availability of organic carbon and inorganic nutrients in water limits the biological productivity of the aquatic environment. Large quantities of the element phosphorous are immobilized in living organisms and locked up in the sediments as insoluble inorganic and organic phosphorous compounds. This form of phosphorous being held in the sediments for long time, remains excluded from recycling. None of the study was made from the deeper waters In this backdrop, the present study was undertaken on phosphate solubilizing bacteria (PSB) to understand their role in the phosphorous cycle and thereof the benthic productivity in the continental slope environment
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