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Functional Responses of Bacterioplankton Diversity and Metabolism to Experimental Bottom-Up and Top-Down Forcings

  • Environmental Microbiology
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Abstract

We conducted an experimental approach using microcosms to simultaneously examine the functional response of natural freshwater bacterial assemblages to the impact of resources (nutrients) and top-down factors (viruses and grazers) on bacterial physiological state and their community structure. Addition of organic and inorganic nutrients led to the proliferation of high nucleic acid content bacterial cells accompanied by high bacterial growth efficiency (considered as proxy of bacterial carbon metabolism) estimates, suggesting that this subgroup represented the most active fraction of bacterial community and had a high capacity to incorporate carbon into its biomass. However, their rapid growth induced the pressure of viral lytic infection which led to their lysis toward the end of the experiment. In microcosms with flagellates plus viruses, and with viruses alone, the selective removal of metabolically active high nucleic acid cells through viral lysis benefitted the less active low nucleic acid content cells, perhaps via the use of lysis products for its growth and survival. Changes in bacterial physiological state in microcosms were reflected in their community structure which was examined using 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene sequencing by Illumina’s Miseq platform. Chao estimator and Shannon diversity index values suggested that bacterial species richness was highest in the presence of both the top-down factors, indicating a tighter control of bacterioplankton dominants within a relatively stable bacterial community. The increase in bacterial metabolism with nutrient addition followed by subsequent lysis of bacterial dominants indicate that both resources and top-down factors work in concert for the sustenance of stable bacterial communities.

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Acknowledgments

JK was supported by a postdoctoral fellowship from the Université Blaise Pascal, Clermont-Ferrand. SC was supported by a student fellowship from Université Blaise Pascal. We thank F. Perriere for her technical assistance in nutrient analysis. We appreciate three anonymous reviewers for their time, effort, and valuable contributions to this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire Microorganismes: Génome et Environnement, UMR CNRS 6023, Université Blaise Pascal, 1 Impasse Amélie Murat, 63178, Aubière, Cedex, France

    A. S. Pradeep Ram, S. Chaibi-Slouma, J. Keshri, J. Colombet & T. Sime-Ngando

  2. Present address: Institute of Postharvest and Food Sciences, Agricultural Research Organization, Volcani Centre, Bet Dagan, 50250, Israel

    J. Keshri

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  1. A. S. Pradeep Ram
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  2. S. Chaibi-Slouma
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Correspondence to A. S. Pradeep Ram.

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Pradeep Ram, A.S., Chaibi-Slouma, S., Keshri, J. et al. Functional Responses of Bacterioplankton Diversity and Metabolism to Experimental Bottom-Up and Top-Down Forcings. Microb Ecol 72, 347–358 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-016-0782-0

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