Confocal laser scanning microscopy as a tool to determine cyanobacteria biomass in microbial mats

Solé, Antonio; Gaju, Núria; Méndez-Álvarez, Sebastián; Esteve, Isabel

doi:10.1046/j.1365-2818.2001.00951.x

Cited by 21 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Conversely, in our field study, we found the highest cyanobacteria biomass when sediment temperature was low (5.3˚C on 6/28/2011; Figure 2), and the density pattern of diatoms closely followed that of cyanobacteria. This and previous studies carried out in the Bahía Blanca estuary [35], in which microbial mat populations of cyanobacteria and diatom show peak abundances in winter and lowest biomass in summer, contrasts with the pattern reported for other temperate locations [27,36].…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

Interaction between Estuarine Microphytobenthos and Physical Forcings: The Role of Atmospheric and Sedimentary Factors

Pan¹,

Bournod²,

Cuadrado³

et al. 2013

IJG

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The goal of this study was to analyze microbial mats and biofilms from the lower supratidal area of the Bahía Blanca estuary (Argentina), and explore their relationship with sediments and other physical forcings. Thirteen monthly sediment samples (uppermost 10 mm) were taken and their composition and abundance in microorganisms was determined by microscopy. Physical parameters (solar radiation and sediment temperature at −5 cm) were recorded with a frequency of 5 minutes by a coastal environmental monitoring station. Additionally, sediment grain size and moisture content were determined for distinct layers in the uppermost 20 mm, and the rate of inundation of the supratidal area was estimated from tidal gauge measurements. There were significant seasonal differences in the biomass of the microphytobenthic groups considered (filamentous cyanobacteria and epipelic diatoms), with the former consistently making up >70% of the total biomass. The relationships between microphytobenthos and sediment temperature and solar radiation fitted to linear regressions, and consistently showed an inverse relationship between microphytobenthic abundance and either one of the physical parameters. The granulometric analysis revealed a unimodal composition of muddy sediments, which were vertically and spatially homogeneous; additionally, there were significant seasonal differences in water content loss with drying conditions prevailing in the summer. Several Microbially-Induced Sedimentary Structures (MISS) were identified in the supratidal zone such as shrinkage cracks, erosional pockets, gas domes, photosynthetic domes, mat chips and sieve-like surfaces. In contrast to studies from analogous environments in the Northern Hemisphere, we found reduced microphytobenthic biomass in summer, which were explained by increased evaporation/desiccation rates as a consequence of increased radiation, despite frequent tidal inundation. In conclusion, the observed density shifts in the benthic microbial communities are attributable to physical forcings dependent upon seasonal variations in interplaying factors such as sediment temperature, solar radiation and tidal inundation.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

Interaction between Estuarine Microphytobenthos and Physical Forcings: The Role of Atmospheric and Sedimentary Factors

Pan¹,

Bournod²,

Cuadrado³

et al. 2013

IJG

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“…For that propose, we used morphologic parameters obtained from confocal images by A. Solé et al: Biomass dynamics determined by CLSM 5 means of a computer-aided drafting program (AutoCAD release version 14) (Solé et al 2001). Confocal microscopy adds many benefits to conventional light microscopy: multidimensional imaging, resolution and contrast improvement, and optical sectioning.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The biomass dynamics of cyanobacteria in an annual cycle determined by confocal laser scanning microscopy

2003

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Summary:We recently published a method for estimating cyanobacteria biomass in delta microbial mats from the Ebro river using confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). The present paper uses this method for identifying different groups of cyanobacteria and for determining their biomass dynamics. Microcoleus chthonoplastes and the Lyngbya-Oscillatoria were the most important contributors to the cyanobacterial biomass throughout the study. Biomass values ranged from 1.29 to 6.55 mgC/cm 2 sediment for Microcoleus chthonoplastes, and from 128 µgC/cm 2 to 3.16 mgC/cm 2 sediment for Lyngbya-Oscillatoria. This technique is useful for determining biomass and for studying filamentous cyanobacteria as well as ramified eukaryotic cells. Confocal serial sections through the samples can be obtained. Two-dimensional images from the samples can be used to calculate the biomass of individual cells.

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“…This plugin calculates the ratio of threshold voxels as cyanobacterial/green algae volumes to all voxels, which represent the total volume of sediment from each binary image in every single stack. The obtained biovolume percentage was multiplied by a conversion factor of 310 fg C μm -3 to convert it to biomass (Fry 1990;Bloem et al, 1995), which has also been used previously for cyanobacteria (Solé et al, 2001;2003;. Biomass results were therefore expressed in carbon units (mg C cm -3 ) of sediment.…”

Section: Clsm-ia: Carbon Estimationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Uncovering biological soil crusts: Carbon content and structure of intact Arctic, Antarctic and alpine biological soil crusts

Jung¹,

Briegel-Williams²,

Simon³

et al. 2017

Preprint

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Abstract. Arctic, Antarctic and alpine biological soil crusts (BSCs) are formed by adhesion of soil particles to exopolysaccharides (EPS), excreted by cyanobacterial and green algal communities, the pioneers and main producers in these habitats. These BSCs provide and influence many ecosystem services such as soil erodibility, soil formation and Nitrogen-(N) as well as carbon-(C) cycles. In cold environments degradation rates are low and BSCs increase continuously soil organic C, whereby these soils are considered as CO2 sinks. This work provides a novel, non-destructive and highly comparable method 15 to investigate intact BSCs with a focus on cyanobacteria and green algae and their contribution to soil organic C. A new terminology arose, based on confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) 2D biomaps, dividing BSCs into a photosynthetic active layer (PAL), made of active photoautotrophic organisms and a photosynthetic inactive layer (PIL), harbouring remnants of cyanobacteria and green algae glued together by their remaining EPS. By the application of CLSM image analysis (CLSM-IA) to 3D biomaps, C coming from photosynthetic active organisms could be visualized as depth profiles with C peaks at 0.5 20 to 2 mm depth. Additionally, the CO2 sink character of these cold soil habitats dominated by BSCs could be highlighted, demonstrating that the first cm³ of soil is made of between 7 and 17 % total organic carbon, identified by loss on ignition.

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Confocal laser scanning microscopy as a tool to determine cyanobacteria biomass in microbial mats

Cited by 21 publications

References 18 publications

Interaction between Estuarine Microphytobenthos and Physical Forcings: The Role of Atmospheric and Sedimentary Factors

Interaction between Estuarine Microphytobenthos and Physical Forcings: The Role of Atmospheric and Sedimentary Factors

The biomass dynamics of cyanobacteria in an annual cycle determined by confocal laser scanning microscopy

Uncovering biological soil crusts: Carbon content and structure of intact Arctic, Antarctic and alpine biological soil crusts

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