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Cable Bacteria in Freshwater Sediments.

Nils Risgaard-Petersen¹, Michael Kristiansen², Rasmus B Frederiksen²

¹Center for Geomicrobiology, Section for Microbiology, Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark Section for Microbiology, Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark nils.risgaard-petersen@bios.au.dk.

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Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Cable bacteria, previously found only in marine environments, have now been discovered in freshwater sediments. These filamentous microorganisms facilitate electrical currents crucial for biogeochemical processes in diverse aquatic ecosystems.

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Area of Science:

Environmental Microbiology
Geobiology
Biogeochemistry

Background:

Cable bacteria (Desulfobulbaceae family) mediate electrical currents between oxygen reduction at marine sediment surfaces and sulfide oxidation in deeper layers.
Previously, cable bacteria were exclusively documented in marine environments.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the occurrence and function of cable bacteria in freshwater sediments.
To determine the phylogenetic relationship of freshwater cable bacteria to their marine counterparts.

Main Methods:

Laboratory incubation of homogenized freshwater sediment with monitoring of pH and electric fields.
Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) to identify Desulfobulbaceae filaments.
In situ measurements of oxygen, pH, and electric potential in natural freshwater sediments.
16S rRNA gene sequencing for phylogenetic analysis.

Main Results:

Evidence of electron transfer via electric currents and presence of Desulfobulbaceae filaments in laboratory-incubated freshwater sediment.
In situ detection of distant electric redox coupling and cable bacterium morphology in natural freshwater sediments.
Phylogenetic analysis revealed freshwater Desulfobulbaceae as a distinct sister group to marine cable bacteria.

Conclusions:

Cable bacteria are present and active in freshwater sediments, expanding their known ecological range.
These findings suggest that electrically mediated biogeochemical processes by cable bacteria are significant in a wider range of environments than previously assumed.
A common evolutionary origin for the cable bacterium phenotype within Desulfobulbaceae is indicated, followed by diversification into freshwater and marine lineages.