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Bacteriolytic Bacillus species isolated from brackish waters of the Southern Baltic Sea

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Abstract

The present study examines antagonistic relationships between different microorganisms inhabiting brackish water and includes a systematic screening for bacteriolytic prokaryotes in the brackish waters of the Southern Baltic Sea (Nordruegenscher Bodden) sampled in July/August 2009. Ten of the 35 marine bacteriolytic isolates belong to the genus Bacillus. Five isolates (B. pumilus, B. subtilis, B. megaterium, B. licheniformis) lysed living microbial cells such as the bacteria Arthrobacter citreus, Arthrobacter protophormiae, Micrococcus luteus, Pseudomonas putida and the yeast Trichosporon mucoides. These and other bacteria (Aeromonas sp., Bacillus subtilis, Chromobacterium violaceum, Citrobacter freundii, Enterobacter aerogenes, Proteus mirabilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Serratia marcescens) were also lysed as autoclaved and pasteurized cells on agar plates. One isolate of Bacillus pumilus showed a distinct bacteriolysis activity against pasteurized cells of A. citreus in liquid culture. Our results suggest that Bacillus species may play a role as opportunistic predators in the marine microbial food web.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Anne Reinhard, Brigitte Fricke, Gaby Pötter and Ulrike Steiner for laboratory assistance, Bob Jack for reviewing the manuscript and Sabine Schade (Institute of Microbiology, Greifswald) for the photography of lysis zones. We also thank the government of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (Germany) for financial support in the form of Landesgraduiertenstipendium.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Applied Microbiology, Institute of Microbiology, University Greifswald, Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Str. 15, 17487, Greifswald, Germany

    Christiane Brack, Annett Mikolasch & Frieder Schauer

  2. Leibniz Institute DSMZ—German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures, Inhoffenstrasse 7B, 38124, Braunschweig, Germany

    Rüdiger Pukall & Peter Schumann

  3. Department of Microbial Ecology, Institute of Microbiology, University Greifswald, 18565, Insel Hiddensee, Germany

    Marion Köster

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  1. Christiane Brack
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  2. Annett Mikolasch
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  3. Rüdiger Pukall
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  4. Peter Schumann
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  5. Marion Köster
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  6. Frieder Schauer
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Correspondence to Christiane Brack.

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Communicated by M. Kühl.

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Brack, C., Mikolasch, A., Pukall, R. et al. Bacteriolytic Bacillus species isolated from brackish waters of the Southern Baltic Sea. Mar Biol 160, 2699–2709 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-013-2263-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-013-2263-z

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