Quantitative Characterization of Microbial Biomass and Community Structure in Subsurface Material: A Prokaryotic Consortium Responsive to Organic Contamination

摘要

Application of quantitative methods for microbial biomass, community structure, and nutritional status to the subsurface samples collected with careful attention to contamination reveals a group of microbes. The microbiota are sparse by several measures of biomass compared to surface sediments and soils. The community structure as characterized by the patterns of ester-linked fatty acids from the phospholipids shows an absence of long chain polyenoic fatty acids typical if microeukaryotes and with high proportions of fatty acids typical of bacteria. Subsurface samples contain a higher proportion of glycerol teichoic acids than surface samples. Microbes in uncontaminated subsurface sediments show nutritional stress as evidenced by high levels of poly beta-hydroxybutyrate and extracellular polysaccharides.