Prokaryotic community structure and respiration during long-term incubations

Despite the importance of incubation assays for studies in microbial ecology that frequently require long confinement times, few reports are available in which changes in the assemblage structure of aquatic prokaryotes were monitored during long-term incubations. We measured rates of dissolved organic carbon degradation and microbial respiration by consumption of dissolved oxygen (DO) in four experiments with Lake Kinneret near-surface water and, concomitantly, we analyzed the variability in prokaryotic community structure during long-term dark bottle incubations. During the first 24 h, there were only minor changes in bacterial community composition. Thereafter there were marked changes in the prokaryotic community structure during the incubations. In contrast, oxygen consumption rates (a proxy for both respiration and dissolved organic carbon degradation rates) remained stable for up to 10-23 days. This study is one of the first to examine closely the phylogenetic changes that occur in the microbial community of untreated freshwater during long-term (days) incubations in dark, sealed containers. Novel information on the diversity of the main bacterial phylotypes that may be involved in dissolved organic matter degradation in lake Kinneret is also provided. Our results suggest that, under certain ecological settings, constant community metabolic rates can be maintained as a result of shifts in community composition.