Vertical Migration in the Sediment-Dwelling Sulfur Bacteria Thioploca spp. in Overcoming Diffusion Limitations.

In order to investigate the environmental requirements of the filamentous sulfur bacteria Thioploca spp., we tested the chemotactic responses of these sedimentary microorganisms to changes in oxygen, nitrate, and sulfide concentrations. A sediment core with a Thioploca mat, retrieved from the oxygen-minimum zone on the Chilean shelf, was incubated in a recirculating flume. The addition of 25 (mu)mol of nitrate per liter to the seawater flow induced the ascent of the Thioploca trichomes (length, up to 70 mm) in their mostly vertically oriented gelatinous sheaths. The upper ends of the filaments penetrated the sediment surface and protruded 1 to 3 mm into the flowing water before they bent downstream. By penetrating the diffusive boundary layer, Thioploca spp. facilitate efficient nitrate uptake in exposed trichome sections that are up to 30 mm long. The cumulative length of exposed filaments per square centimeter of sediment surface was up to 92 cm, with a total exposed trichome surface area of 1 cm(sup2). The positive reaction to nitrate overruled a negative response to oxygen, indicating that nitrate is the principal electron acceptor used by Thioploca spp. in the anoxic environment; 10-fold increases in nitrate fluxes after massive emergence of filaments strengthened this hypothesis. A positive chemotactic response to sulfide concentrations of less than 100 (mu)mol liter(sup-1) counteracted the attraction to nitrate and, along with phobic reactions to oxygen and higher sulfide concentrations, controlled the vertical movement of the trichomes. We suggest that the success of Thioploca spp. on the Chilean shelf is based on the ability of these organisms to shuttle between the nitrate-rich boundary layer and the sulfidic sediment strata.