Abstract
The distribution of neutrophilic microbial iron oxidation is mainly determined by local gradients of oxygen, light, nitrate and ferrous iron. In the anoxic top part of littoral freshwater lake sediment, nitrate-reducing and phototrophic Fe(II)-oxidizers compete for the same e− donor; reduced iron. It is not yet understood how these microbes co-exist in the sediment and what role they play in the Fe cycle. We show that both metabolic types of anaerobic Fe(II)-oxidizing microorganisms are present in the same sediment layer directly beneath the oxic-anoxic sediment interface. The photoferrotrophic most probable number counted 3.4·105 cells·g−1 and the autotrophic and mixotrophic nitrate-reducing Fe(II)-oxidizers totaled 1.8·104 and 4.5·104 cells·g−1 dry weight sediment, respectively. To distinguish between the two microbial Fe(II) oxidation processes and assess their individual contribution to the sedimentary Fe cycle, littoral lake sediment was incubated in microcosm experiments. Nitrate-reducing Fe(II)-oxidizing bacteria exhibited a higher maximum Fe(II) oxidation rate per cell, in both pure cultures and microcosms, than photoferrotrophs. In microcosms, photoferrotrophs instantly started oxidizing Fe(II), whilst nitrate-reducing Fe(II)-oxidizers showed a significant lag-phase during which they probably use organics as e− donor before initiating Fe(II) oxidation. This suggests that they will be outcompeted by phototrophic Fe(II)-oxidizers during optimal light conditions; as phototrophs deplete Fe(II) before nitrate-reducing Fe(II)-oxidizers start Fe(II) oxidation. Thus, the co-existence of the two anaerobic Fe(II)-oxidizers may be possible due to a niche space separation in time by the day-night cycle, where nitrate-reducing Fe(II)-oxidizers oxidize Fe(II) during darkness and phototrophs play a dominant role in Fe(II) oxidation during daylight. Furthermore, metabolic flexibility of Fe(II)-oxidizing microbes may play a paramount role in the conservation of the sedimentary Fe cycle.
Highlights
Iron is a ubiquitously abundant redox active transition metal in sedimentary systems (Froelich et al, 1979; Canfield et al, 1993)
The samples were transported to the laboratory at 4 ̊C and the sediment was processed immediately for microelectrode analysis, most probable number (MPN) studies and microcosm incubations
SEDIMENT CHARACTERISTICS Lake Constance littoral sediment was of a sandy nature without any coarse clumps or large organic material
Summary
Iron is a ubiquitously abundant redox active transition metal in sedimentary systems (Froelich et al, 1979; Canfield et al, 1993). Fe(III) and other oxidants in the pore water of the sediment are consumed by bacterial processes in a hierarchical order of decreasing energy production per mole of organic carbon oxidized (Froelich et al, 1979; Canfield and Thamdrup, 2009). This creates a chemical gradient within the sediment column, which describes a defined sequence of redox zones in these sediments that are individually characterized by the dominantly consumed electron acceptor. Exposure to light of the littoral sediment stimulates photosynthesis and O2 production and creates a downward shift, or broadening, in the spatial positioning of the redox zones (Gerhardt et al, 2005, 2010)
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