Bacterial diversity in the water column of meromictic Lake Cadagno and evidence for seasonal dynamics

PLoS One. 2018 Dec 26;13(12):e0209743. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0209743. eCollection 2018.

Abstract

The meromictic Lake Cadagno is characterized by a compact chemocline with high concentrations of anoxygenic phototrophic purple and green sulfur bacteria. However, a complete picture of the bacterial diversity, and in particular of effects of seasonality and compartmentalization is missing. To characterize bacterial communities and elucidate relationships between them and their surrounding environment high-throughput 16S rRNA gene pyrosequencing was conducted. Proteobacteria, Chlorobi, Verrucomicrobia, and Actinobacteria were the dominant groups in Lake Cadagno water column. Moreover, bacterial interaction within the chemocline and between oxic and anoxic lake compartments were investigated through fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and flow cytometry (FCM). The different populations of purple sulfur bacteria (PSB) and green sulfur bacteria (GSB) in the chemocline indicate seasonal dynamics of phototrophic sulfur bacteria composition. Interestingly, an exceptional bloom of a cyanobacteria population in the oxic-anoxic transition zone affected the common spatial distribution of phototrophic sulfur bacteria with consequence on chemocline location and water column stability. Our study suggests that both bacterial interactions between different lake compartments and within the chemocline can be a dynamic process influencing the stratification structure of Lake Cadagno water column.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Chlorobi / classification
  • Chlorobi / genetics
  • Chromatiaceae / classification
  • Chromatiaceae / genetics
  • In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence
  • Lakes / microbiology*
  • Phylogeny
  • RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / genetics
  • Seasons*
  • Water Microbiology

Substances

  • RNA, Ribosomal, 16S

Grants and funding

This work was supported by Scuola Universitaria Professionale della Svizzera Italiana. Bueche μlab provided support in the form of salaries for author MB, but did not have any additional role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The specific role of this author is articulated in the ‘author contributions’ section.