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A microautoradiographic study of the activity of attached and free-living bacteria

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Abstract

Microautoradiography, combined with epifluorescent microscopy, was used to evaluate the uptake of tritiated amino acids by a marine Pseudomonas sp. A comparison was made between the activity of bacteria free-living in the medium and bacteria which were attached to glass, polyethylene or polystyrene substrata. The proportion of active bacteria was lower for free-living cells (53–82%) and those attached to polystyrene (53–76%) than for those attached to glass (77–99%) or polyethylene (73–96%). For bacteria attached to glass, assimilated labelled substrate was retained within the cell over 3 h, whereas with polyethylene, labelled material was released from the cells and adsorbed on the surrounding substratum. Hence the physiological activity of attached bacteria depended on the chemical composition of the substratum.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Warwick, CV4 7AL, Coventry, UK

    Madilyn Fletcher

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  1. Madilyn Fletcher
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Fletcher, M. A microautoradiographic study of the activity of attached and free-living bacteria. Arch. Microbiol. 122, 271–274 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00411290

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00411290

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