Neutrophilic, Microaerophilic Fe(II)-Oxidizing Bacteria are Ubiquitous in Aquatic Habitats of a Subtropical Australian Coastal Catchment (Ubiquitous FeOB in Catchment Aquatic Habitats)

Abstract

We examined the abundance and distribution of neutrophilic, microaerophilic Fe(II)-oxidizing bacteria (FeOB) in aquatic habitats of a highly weathered, subtropical coastal catchment where Fe biogeochemistry is of environmental significance. Laboratory cultivation and microscopy indicated that stalked Gallionella and sheathed Leptothrix-like FeOB were present in microbial mats associated with a circumneutral-pH, groundwater seep and streambank surface sediment, whereas unicellular FeOB were widespread in surface and subsurface waters, including a seep, shallow stream and estuary-adjacent groundwater. Direct Gallionella-specific PCR detected dominant bacterial members related to Sideroxydans paludicola (95% sequence identity, SI) and Gallionella capsiferriformans (96% SI) in the seep microbial mat. TGGE analysis indicated that the most common FeOB in water enrichment cultures were related to S. lithotrophicus (96% SI). The ubiquity of FeOB in Poona catchment aquatic habitats suggests bacterial Fe(II) oxidation is integral to catchment Fe biogeochemistry.