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Evidence of high organotrophic potentiality of bacteria in the deep ocean

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Abstract

The organotrophic potentiality of heterotrophic microorganisms 50 cm above the ocean floor (5,207 m depth) was measured in situ, at a station in the subarctic Pacific Ocean (44° N; 154° E). In certain enriched deep-sea samples incubated in situ, the microorganisms exhibited nearly the same organotrophic activity as those in the surface water layers. Rod-shaped barophilic bacteria (0.4 to 0.6 μ x 1.0 to 2.0 μ), which multiplied at a generation time of about 10 h, were responsible for this activity.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ocean Research Institute, University of Tokyo, Nakano-ku, Tokyo, Japan

    H. Seki, E. Wada, I. Koike & A. Hattori

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  1. H. Seki
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  2. E. Wada
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  3. I. Koike
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  4. A. Hattori
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Communicated by A.Anraku, Nagasaki

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Seki, H., Wada, E., Koike, I. et al. Evidence of high organotrophic potentiality of bacteria in the deep ocean. Mar. Biol. 26, 1–4 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00389080

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00389080

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