Quantification of marine archaea in the Cape Fear River Estuary in southeastern North Carolina using fluorescence in situ hybridization

UNCW Author/Contributor (non-UNCW co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)

Jennifer Rebecca Arp (Creator)

Institution

The University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW )

Web Site: http://library.uncw.edu/

Abstract: Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with 16S rRNA-targeted oligonucleotide probes was used to examine the abundance and distribution of planktonic microorganisms within the Cape Fear River estuary in southeastern NC. This black water riverine system is a mesotrophic, temperate, coastal estuary with a partially mixed salinity gradient. Recent studies have shown the ubiquitous nature of marine and freshwater archaea in “non-extreme” environments with archaea being common components of marine assemblages in both shallow and deep waters. I attempted to quantify the distribution and abundance of planktonic archaea within the estuarine environment. To this end, water samples were collected monthly from three sites at surface and depth from September 2001 to August 2002. Samples were analyzed using domain-specific oligonucleotide probes to classify planktonic microorganisms to the domains Eukarya, Bacteria, and Archaea and the subdomain archaeal levels of Crenarchaeota and Euryarchaeota using group-specific oligonucleotide probes. Total microbial direct count was performed using DAPI. Salinity, temperature, pH, turbidity, and dissolved oxygen were collected to correlate abundance and distribution of the planktonic microorganisms to physical parameters. Using FISH, planktonic archaea was found at small but significant abundances within the Cape Fear River estuary. The domain Bacteria comprised the greatest proportion of the total microbial population while the domains Eukarya and Archaea were less abundant and similar in proportion. Archaea averaged up to twenty-one percent of the total microbial population with the archaeal subdomain Euryarchaeota being the most abundant archaea. Archaeal distribution and abundance was affected by changes in seasons and was positively correlated with water temperature. However, depth or other physical parameters measured had no significant effect on archaeal distribution and abundance. The data indicate that while changes in season do affect total planktonic microbial abundances the proportion of planktonic microorganisms of each domain remains relatively constant within the Cape Fear River estuary.

Quantification of marine archaea in the Cape Fear River Estuary in southeastern North Carolina using fluorescence in situ hybridization
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Created on 1/1/2009
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Additional Information

Publication

Thesis

A Thesis Submitted to the University of North Carolina Wilmington in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science

Language: English

Date: 2009

Keywords

Plankton populations--North Carolina--Cape Fear River Estuary, Archaebacteria--North Carolina--Cape Fear River Estuary, Estuarine ecology--North Carolina--Cape Fear River Estuary

Subjects

Plankton populations -- North Carolina -- Cape Fear River Estuary

Archaebacteria -- North Carolina -- Cape Fear River Estuary

Estuarine ecology -- North Carolina -- Cape Fear River Estuary

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