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Journal article
Production of Dissolved DNA, RNA, and Protein by Microbial Populations in a Florida Reservoir
Applied and Environmental Microbiology, Vol.56(10), pp.2957-2962
10/01/1990
PMCID: PMC184883
PMID: 1704697
Web of Science ID: WOS:A1990EB61100002
Abstract
Production of dissolved macromolecules by ambient autotrophic and heterotrophic microbial populations was measured in a eutrophic Florida reservoir by in situ labeling with various radioactive substrates. When tritiated thymidine was used as the precursor, production of labeled dissolved DNA, RNA and protein was observed. The rate of production of labeled dissolved macromolecules was 3.1%, the rate of cellular incorporation of tritiated thymidine and the production of dissolved DNA represented 2.3% the rate of cellular DNA incorporation. Microautotrophic populations labeled with 14-C labeled sodium carbonate produced dissolved RNA and protein at rates of 0.24 and 0.11 microg of C/L/hr, or 1.8% the total rate of carbon fixation, with no measurable dissolved DNA production. In an attempt to specifically label phytoplankton DNA, samples were incubated with tritiated adenine or intracellular 32-P in the presence and absence of the photosynthetic inhibitor 3-(3,4- dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea (DCMU). Although DCMU inhibited 14-C fixation by approximately 99%, this antimetabolite had only a slight effect on tritiated adenine incorporation and no effect on 32- Pincorporation into cellular macromolecules. Significant amounts of dissolved DNA were produced in both tritiated adenine and intracellular 32-P incubations, but again DCMU had no effect on the production rates. These results indicate that actively growing populations of both phytoplankton and bacterioplankton produced dissolved RNA and protein, while only active bacterioplankton produced measurable quantities of dissolved DNA. Dead or senescent phytoplankton may have produced dissolved DNA, but would not be measured in the relatively short incubations used. (Author 's abstract)
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Details
- Title
- Production of Dissolved DNA, RNA, and Protein by Microbial Populations in a Florida Reservoir
- Publication Details
- Applied and Environmental Microbiology, Vol.56(10), pp.2957-2962
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publisher
- American Society for Microbiology
- Grant note
- National Science Foundation Grant 8601570
- Copyright
- © American Society for Microbiology
- Identifiers
- WOS:A1990EB61100002; 99380184796106600
- Academic Unit
- Hal Marcus College of Science and Engineering ; Center for Environmental Diagnostics and Bioremediation
- Language
- English