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Dissolved adenosine triphosphate utilization by free-living and attached bacterioplankton

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Abstract

We determined concentrations of dissolved adenosine triphosphate (DATP) and rates of its uptake by marine bacteria in seawater from the continental shelf and Gulf Stream off the southeastern USA. Dissolved adenosine triphosphate (DATP) concentrations (22 to 568 ng l−1) were highest in nearshore surface waters and at the interfaces of continental shelf water and upwelled water from the cold wall of the Gulf Stream; lowest concentrations were found in surface water furthest from shore and in subsurface waters. Bacterial population density and DATP uptake velocities were determined to calculate average rates of DATP uptake per-cell. In general, percell rates of uptake were highest in samples having the highest in situ concentrations of DATP and varied markedly with small-scale temporal and spatial changes. Per-cell uptake by attached bacteria was one to two orders of magnitude faster than uptake by free-living bacteria; this difference could be accounted for by the much larger average cell volume of the former.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology, University of Georgia, 30602, Athens, Georgia, USA

    R. E. Hodson & A. E. Maccubbin

  2. Department of Zoology, University of Georgia, 30602, Athens, Georgia, USA

    L. R. Pomeroy

Authors
  1. R. E. Hodson
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  2. A. E. Maccubbin
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  3. L. R. Pomeroy
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Communicated by N. D. Holland, La Jolla

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Hodson, R.E., Maccubbin, A.E. & Pomeroy, L.R. Dissolved adenosine triphosphate utilization by free-living and attached bacterioplankton. Marine Biology 64, 43–51 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00394079

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