Peculiarities of Alteromonas macleodii strains reflects their deep/surface habitation rather than geographical distribution.
The phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and genetic peculiarities of 5 deep strains of Alteromonas macleodii (isolated from Adriatic and Ionian Sea water from a depth of 1,000-3,500 m) and 5 strains of the same species isolated from the surface layer of Aegean, Andaman, Black Sea and Atlantic Ocean water near the British shore have been studied. Electron microscopy has shown that the deep strains' cells were, on average, two times longer (2.1±0.2×0.7±0.1 µm) than the surface strains' (1.1±0.1×0.6±0.1 µm). Using fatty acid analysis (particularly the mono-unsaturated C16:1 and C18:1 fatty acids contents) the deep and surface isolates were clearly separated into two clusters. Distinctions between them were also found in different lectin binding capacity, which is probably determined by the structure of their extracellular polysaccharide matrix. Analysis of the results of PCR with primers to repeated nucleotide sequences revealed a higher level of genetic polymorphism in surface strains in comparison with the deep isolates. This division was confirmed by the cluster analysis method though it was not as clear as in the fatty acids analysis. The described peculiarities are probably reflective of specific conditions in which A. macleodii strains live on the surface or in the depth of the world's oceans.
Institute of Microbiology and Virology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, 154 Zabolotnogo Str., Kyiv 03680, Ukraine. vvklochko@ukr.net
Vitalii
V
Klochko
Liubov
L
Zelena
Sergei
S
IVoychuk
Andriy
A
Ostapchuk
D020591:Alteromonas / Q000737:chemistry / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D017753:Ecosystem; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000032:analysis; D005828:Genetics, Population; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D010641:Phenotype; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D011134:Polysaccharides / Q000032:analysis; D012623:Seawater / Q000382:microbiology*
D005227:Fatty Acids; D011134:Polysaccharides