Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 7, 2026

Experimental Column Setup for Studying Anaerobic Biogeochemical Interactions Between Iron (Oxy)Hydroxides, Trace Elements, and Bacteria
Published on: December 19, 2017
Sulphur-oxidizing and sulphate-reducing communities in Brazilian mangrove sediments
Maryeimy Varon-Lopez1, Armando Cavalcante Franco Dias, Cristiane Cipolla Fasanella
1Department of Soil Science, 'Luiz de Queiroz' College of Agriculture, University of São Paulo, Piracicaba, SP, Brazil; Department of Microbial Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO/KNAW), Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Abstract:
Mangrove soils are anaerobic environments rich in sulphate and organic matter. Although the sulphur cycle is one of the major actors in this ecosystem, little is known regarding the sulphur bacteria communities in mangrove soils. We investigated the abundance, composition and diversity of sulphur-oxidizing (SOB) and sulphate-reducing (SRB) bacteria in sediments from three Brazilian mangrove communities: two contaminated, one with oil (OilMgv) and one with urban waste and sludge (AntMgv), and one pristine (PrsMgv). The community structures were assessed using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) and clone libraries, using genes for the enzymes adenosine-5'-phosphosulphate reductase (aprA) and sulphite reductase (Dsr) (dsrB). The abundance for qPCR showed the ratio dsrB/aprA to be variable among mangroves and higher according to the gradient observed for oil contamination in the OilMgv. The PCR-DGGE patterns analysed by Nonmetric Multidimensional Scaling revealed differences among the structures of the three mangrove communities. The clone libraries showed that Betaproteobacteria, Gammaproteobacteria and Deltaproteobacteria were the most abundant groups associated with sulphur cycling in mangrove sediments. We conclude that the microbial SOB and SRB communities in mangrove soils are different in each mangrove forest and that such microbial communities could possibly be used as a proxy for contamination in mangrove forests.
More Related Videos
15:19Development of Sulfidogenic Sludge from Marine Sediments and Trichloroethylene Reduction in an Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket Reactor
Published on: October 15, 2015
09:45Laboratory Simulation of an Iron(II)-rich Precambrian Marine Upwelling System to Explore the Growth of Photosynthetic Bacteria
Published on: July 24, 2016
Related Concept Videos
Microbes and the Sulfur Cycle
Microbial Mats
Microbes and Other Elemental Cycles
Sulfur Assimilation
Marine Microbial Ecology
Anoxygenic Phototrophic Bacteria