title: Bacterial community composition in Lake Tanganyika: vertical and horizontal heterogeneity.
abstract: Vertical and latitudinal differences in bacterial community composition (BCC) in Lake Tanganyika were studied during the dry season of 2002 by means of denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis analysis of PCR-amplified 16S RNA fragments. Dominant bands were sequenced and identified as members of the Cyanobacteria, Actinobacteria, Nitrospirae, green nonsulfur bacteria, and Firmicutes divisions and the Gamma- and Deltaproteobacteria subdivisions. The BCC in the lake displayed both vertical and latitudinal variation. Vertical changes in BCC were related to the thermal water column stratification, which influences oxygen and nutrient concentrations. Latitudinal variation was related to upwelling of deep water and increased primary production in the south of the lake. The number of bands per sample increased with bacterial production in the epilimnion of the lake, suggesting a positive diversity-productivity relationship.
authors.affiliation: Ghent University, Department Biology, Section Protistology and Aquatic Ecology, 9000 Ghent, Belgium. Aaike.DeWever@UGent.be
authors.forename: Aaike
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: De Wever
authors.forename: Koenraad
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Muylaert
authors.forename: Katleen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Van der Gucht
authors.forename: Samuel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pirlot
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cocquyt
authors.forename: Jean-Pierre
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Descy
authors.forename: Pierre-Denis
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Plisnier
authors.forename: Wim
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Vyverman
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development*; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000032:analysis; D017753:Ecosystem; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D005618:Fresh Water / Q000382:microbiology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013636:Tanzania
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S