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Desintoxicación de las aguas de las plataformas africanas sulfúricas mediante la floración de quemolitotróficos
Gaute Lavik1, Torben Stührmann, Volker Brüchert
1Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, Celsiusstrasse 1, D-28359 Bremen, Germany.
Nature
|December 17, 2008
Resumen
Las bacterias marinas desintoxicaron las aguas de la plataforma africana, convirtiendo el sulfuro de hidrógeno dañino en compuestos de azufre inofensivos. Este proceso microbiano creó una zona de amortiguación vital, protegiendo las pesquerías y revelando condiciones de sulfuro generalizadas y pasadas por alto en las plataformas continentales.
Área de la Ciencia:
- Ecología microbiana marina ecología microbiana marina.
- Biogeoquímica La biogeoquímica es la bioquímica.
- Oceanografía La oceanografía es la oceanografía.
Sus antecedentes:
- Las aguas costeras son cruciales para la pesca mundial, pero la eutrofización causa agotamiento del oxígeno y sulfuro de hidrógeno tóxico.
- El sulfuro de hidrógeno representa una grave amenaza para la vida marina y los ecosistemas costeros.
Objetivo del estudio:
- Para investigar la desintoxicación microbiana de una gran área de agua sulfúrica en la plataforma africana.
- Para identificar las bacterias y los mecanismos responsables de la oxidación del sulfuro.
Principales métodos:
- Análisis químicos y modelado estequiométrico.
- Incubaciones isotópicas y análisis de secuencias de genes funcionales.
- ARN ribosómico 16S y fluorescencia en hibridación in situ.
Principales resultados:
- Las bacterias florecientes oxidaron el sulfuro tóxico a azufre coloidal y sulfato en un área de 7.000 km2).
- Las bacterias quemolitotróficas, principalmente las proteobacterias gamma y epsilon, catalizaron la desintoxicación.
- Estas bacterias formaban una zona de protección entre las aguas subterráneas tóxicas y las aguas superficiales oxigenadas.
Conclusiones:
- Se observó una desintoxicación microbiana a gran escala de sulfuro en sistemas de mar abierto.
- El consumo de sulfuro por parte de las bacterias puede estar subestimado, lo que sugiere una mayor prevalencia de aguas de fondo sulfúricas.
- Este proceso tiene un impacto significativo en las comunidades bentónicas y las pesquerías.
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