Aerobic Bacteria Produce Nitric Oxide via Denitrification and Trigger Algal Population Collapse

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adi Abada ◽  
Martin Sperfeld ◽  
Raanan Carmieli ◽  
Shifra Ben-Dor ◽  
Irene Huang Zhang ◽  
...  

Microbial interactions govern marine biogeochemistry. These interactions are generally considered to rely on exchange of organic molecules. Here we report on a novel inorganic route of microbial communication, showing that algal-bacterial interactions are mediated through inorganic nitrogen exchange. Under oxygen-rich conditions, aerobic bacteria reduce algal-secreted nitrite to nitric oxide (NO) through denitrification, a well-studied anaerobic respiration mechanism. Bacteria secrete NO, triggering a cascade in algae akin to programmed cell death. During death, algae further generate NO, thereby propagating the signal in the algal population. Eventually, the algal population collapses, similar to the sudden demise of oceanic algal blooms. Our study suggests that the exchange of denitrification intermediates, particularly in oxygenated environments, is an overlooked yet ecologically significant route of microbial communication within and across kingdoms.

Author(s):  
Roksana Jahan ◽  
Hyu Chang Choi ◽  
Young Seuk Park ◽  
Young Cheol Park ◽  
Ji Ho Seo ◽  
...  

Self-Organizing Maps (SOM) have been used for patterning and visualizing ten environmental parameters and phytoplankton biomass in a mactrotidal (>10 m) Gyeonggi Bay and artificial Shihwa Lake during 1986–2004. SOM segregated study areas into four groups and ten subgroups. Two strikingly alternative states are frequently observed: the first is a diverse non-eutrophic state designated by three groups (SOM 1–3), and the second is a eutrophic state (SOM 4: Shihwa Lake and Upper Gyeonggi Bay; summer season) characterized by enhanced nutrients (3 mg l−1 dissolved inorganic nitrogen, 0.1 mg l−1 PO4) that act as a signal and response to that signal as algal blooms (24 µg chlorophyll-a l−1). Bloom potential in response to nitrification is affiliated with high temperature (r = 0.26), low salinity (r = −0.40) and suspended solids (r = –0.27). Moreover, strong stratification in the Shihwa Lake has accelerated harmful algal blooms and hypoxia. The non-eutrophic states (SOM 1–3) are characterized by macro-tidal estuaries exhibiting a tolerance to pollution with nitrogen-containing nutrients and retarding any tendency toward stratification. SOM 1 (winter) is more distinct from SOM 4 due to higher suspended solids (>50 mg l−1) caused by resuspension that induces light limitation and low chlorophyll-a (<5 µg l−1). In addition, eutrophication-induced shifts in phytoplankton communities are noticed during all the seasons in Gyeonggi Bay. Overall, SOM showed high performance for visualization and abstraction of ecological data and could serve as an efficient ecological map that can specify blooming regions and provide a comprehensive view on the eutrophication process in a macrotidal estuary.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (9) ◽  
pp. 674 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ario Damar ◽  
Franciscus Colijn ◽  
Karl-Juergen Hesse ◽  
Luky Adrianto ◽  
Yonvitner ◽  
...  

A study of nutrients, underwater light dynamics, and their correlation with phytoplankton biomass was conducted in the tropical estuary of Jakarta Bay, Indonesia, in the dry season during the period from 2001 to 2019. This study analyzed the spatial and temporal dynamics of phytoplankton biomass and its correlation with phytoplankton biomass. There was significant increase in nutrient concentration in Jakarta Bay, with annual means of 27.97 µM dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) and 11.31 µM phosphates in 2001, increasing to 88.99 µM DIN and 25.92 µM phosphates in 2019. Increased mean nutrient concentrations were accompanied by increased mean phytoplankton biomass, from 15.81 µg Chl-a L−1 in 2001 to 21.31 µg Chl-a L−1 in 2019. The eutrophication status of Jakarta Bay waters was calculated using the Tropical Index for Marine Systems eutrophication index, which showed increased areas of hyper-eutrophic and eutrophic zones, while the mesotrophic area decreased. The hyper-eutrophic zone dominated the areas around river mouths and the inner part of the bay, while eutrophic status was observed in the middle part of the bay and mesotrophic status was found in the outer part of the bay. The area of hyper-eutrophic water increased 1.5-fold, from 75.1 km2 in 2001 to 114.0 km2 in 2019. Increasing eutrophication of the bay has had negative ecological consequences including algal blooms, hypoxic conditions, and mass mortality of marine biota, and it urgently requires remediation.


2006 ◽  
Vol 188 (21) ◽  
pp. 7344-7353 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas Barraud ◽  
Daniel J. Hassett ◽  
Sung-Hei Hwang ◽  
Scott A. Rice ◽  
Staffan Kjelleberg ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Bacterial biofilms at times undergo regulated and coordinated dispersal events where sessile biofilm cells convert to free-swimming, planktonic bacteria. In the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa, we previously observed that dispersal occurs concurrently with three interrelated processes within mature biofilms: (i) production of oxidative or nitrosative stress-inducing molecules inside biofilm structures, (ii) bacteriophage induction, and (iii) cell lysis. Here we examine whether specific reactive oxygen or nitrogen intermediates play a role in cell dispersal from P. aeruginosa biofilms. We demonstrate the involvement of anaerobic respiration processes in P. aeruginosa biofilm dispersal and show that nitric oxide (NO), used widely as a signaling molecule in biological systems, causes dispersal of P. aeruginosa biofilm bacteria. Dispersal was induced with low, sublethal concentrations (25 to 500 nM) of the NO donor sodium nitroprusside (SNP). Moreover, a P. aeruginosa mutant lacking the only enzyme capable of generating metabolic NO through anaerobic respiration (nitrite reductase, ΔnirS) did not disperse, whereas a NO reductase mutant (ΔnorCB) exhibited greatly enhanced dispersal. Strategies to induce biofilm dispersal are of interest due to their potential to prevent biofilms and biofilm-related infections. We observed that exposure to SNP (500 nM) greatly enhanced the efficacy of antimicrobial compounds (tobramycin, hydrogen peroxide, and sodium dodecyl sulfate) in the removal of established P. aeruginosa biofilms from a glass surface. Combined exposure to both NO and antimicrobial agents may therefore offer a novel strategy to control preestablished, persistent P. aeruginosa biofilms and biofilm-related infections.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elham Kakaei Lafdani ◽  
Taija Saarela ◽  
Ari Laurén ◽  
Jukka Pumpanen ◽  
Marjo Palviainen

&lt;p&gt;In drained boreal peatlands, forest regeneration is typically done using a sequence of &lt;strong&gt;c&lt;/strong&gt;lear-cutting, ditch network maintenance, site preparation and planting. Following the forest regeneration, export of nutrients to water courses is increased. This results in degradation of water quality, eutrophication, and enhances the formation of harmful algal blooms. The aim of current research was to test a biochar reactor in forest runoff water purification, especially nitrogen recovery from runoff water. The biochar reactor was tested using a meso-scale laboratory experiment by circulating forest runoff water through biochar-filled columns and by monitoring water nutrient concentrations in the inlet and outlet of the columns. Adsorption rate (K&lt;sub&gt;ad&lt;/sub&gt;) and maximum adsorption capacity (Q&lt;sub&gt;max&lt;/sub&gt;) were quantified by fitting pseudo-first and second order as kinetic models to the experimental data. The results demonstrated that concentration of total nitrogen (TN) decreased by 58% during the 8 weeks experiment, and the majority of TN adsorption has occurred already within the first 3 days. In addition, NO&lt;sub&gt;3&lt;/sub&gt;-N and NH&lt;sub&gt;4&lt;/sub&gt;-N concentrations decreased below the detection limit in 5 days after the beginning of the experiment. The results demonstrated that the biochar reactor was not able to adsorb TN in low concentrations. The results suggest that biochar reactor can be a useful and effective method for runoff water purification in clear-cut forests and deserves further development and testing. This makes biochar reactor a promising water protection tool to be tested in sites where there is a risk for high rate of nutrient export after forest regeneration.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Keywords&lt;/strong&gt;: adsorption, biochar reactor, column experiment, inorganic nitrogen, total nitrogen.&lt;/p&gt;


2008 ◽  
Vol 54 (8) ◽  
pp. 639-646 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth Barth ◽  
Virginia L. Clark

Neisseria gonorrhoeae can grow by anaerobic respiration using nitrite as an alternative electron acceptor. Under these growth conditions, N. gonorrhoeae produces and degrades nitric oxide (NO), an important host defense molecule. Laboratory strain F62 has been shown to establish and maintain a NO steady-state level that is a function of the nitrite reductase/NO reductase ratio and is independent of cell number. The nitrite reductase activities (122–197 nmol NO2reduced·min–1·OD600–1) and NO reductase activities (88–155 nmol NO reduced·min–1·OD600–1) in a variety of gonococcal clinical isolates were similar to the specific activities seen in F62 (241 nmol NO2reduced·min–1·OD600–1and 88 nmol NO reduced·min–1·OD600–1, respectively). In seven gonococcal strains, the NO steady-state levels established in the presence of nitrite were similar to that of F62 (801–2121 nmol·L–1NO), while six of the strains, identified as arginine, hypoxanthine, and uracil auxotrophs (AHU), that cause asymptomatic infection in men had either two- to threefold (373–579 nmol·L–1NO) or about 100-fold (13–24 nmol·L–1NO) lower NO steady-state concentrations. All tested strains in the presence of a NO donor, 2,2′-(hydroxynitrosohydrazono)bis-ethanimine/NO, quickly lowered and maintained NO levels in the noninflammatory range of NO (<300 nmol·L–1). The generation of a NO steady-state concentration was directly affected by alterations in respiratory control in both F62 and an AHU strain, although differences in membrane function are suspected to be responsible for NO steady-state level differences in AHU strains.


2014 ◽  
Vol 65 (3) ◽  
pp. 191 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kwee Siong Tew ◽  
Pei-Jie Meng ◽  
David C. Glover ◽  
Jih-Terng Wang ◽  
Ming-Yih Leu ◽  
...  

Algal bloom is a major concern worldwide. In this study, we characterised the physical and biochemical parameters during an algal bloom event in a coastal lagoon in an attempt to predict local blooms in the future. Results showed that the highest concentrations of dissolved inorganic phosphorus (DIP), chlorophyll a (chl a) and phytoplankton abundance were found in the inner area, whereas the highest dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) concentration occurred near the inlet-outlet channel. Chl a was correlated with DIP, and there was a significant exponential relationship between chl a and the nitrogen to phosphorus ratio (N/P ratio) across all sampling stations and times. A higher proportion of the variation in chl a was explained by the N/P ratio than either DIP or DIN. We found that a N/P ratio <2.38 will likely trigger an algal bloom (chl a ≥ 10 µgL–1) in the lagoon. Our results suggest that the N/P ratio could be used as an expedient and reliable measure of the potential eutrophic status of coastal lagoons.


1988 ◽  
Vol 45 (11) ◽  
pp. 1959-1967 ◽  
Author(s):  
David L. Galat ◽  
James P. Verdin

Seventy-six percent of the 1972–86 variability in remotely sensed maximum surface water biomass of Nodularia spumigena blooms in Pyramid Lake, Nevada, was explained by concentrations of surface water total nitrogen (TN) during the preceding winter circulation. Very large summer–autumn Nodularia blooms were recorded by Landsat subsequent to low early winter surface water TN concentrations, very low fluvial discharge, and fluvial TN loads as predicted, but contrary to predictions, also when fluvial discharge and TN loads were very high. The observed cause of large Nodularia blooms following high fluvial nitrogen influx was temporary meromixis produced by the large volume of freshwater transporting this nitrogen. Incomplete winter lake circulation reduced internal transport of hypolimnetic nitrogen to surface waters. Meromixis resulted in early stable summer thermal stratification and early depletion of epilimnetic inorganic nitrogen, followed by early and large Nodularia blooms. Variations in magnitude of historic Nodularia blooms in a saline desert lake support the generality of blue-green algal dominance in lakes with low nitrogen and high phosphorus concentrations (i.e. low N:P ratios). However, climatic forcing of fluvial discharge and lake mixing patterns were also shown to be important determinants of seasonal succession of phytoplankton to blue-greens.


2015 ◽  
Vol 74 (3) ◽  
pp. 2173-2184 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xunliang Cheng ◽  
Lijun Hou ◽  
Min Liu ◽  
Yanling Zheng ◽  
Guoyu Yin ◽  
...  

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