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Widespread distribution of ability to oxidize manganese among freshwater bacteria
1Department of Biology, Rollins College, Winter Park, Florida 32789 and Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195.
Abstract:
Manganese-oxidizing heterotrophic bacteria were found to comprise a significant proportion of the bacterial community of Lake Washington (Seattle, Wash.) and Lake Virginia (Winter Park, Fla.). Identification of these freshwater bacteria showed that members of a variety of genera are capable of oxidizing manganese. Isolates maintained in the laboratory spontaneously lost the ability to oxidize manganese. A direct correlation was found between the presence of plasmid DNA and the ability of the organism to oxidize manganese.
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