MICROBIAL LOOP
Microbial loop in marine ecosystems
Although marine bacteria were known to exist, they were
thought to play role in decomposition of dead and
decaying organisms and mineralization of nutrients only
However, during 1980s renowned marine microbiologist
Farooq Azam introduced the term MICROBIAL LOOP
The term 'microbial loop' was introduced in his paper "The
Ecological Role of Water Column Microbes in the Sea".
(MEPS,1983)
It is an alternative pathway of carbon and organic
matter flow in the food chain Operated through
microbes (from bacteria to protozoans and then to
metazoan )
include the role played by bacteria in the carbon and
nutrient cycles of the marine environment
Generally, marine bacteria were not thought to be significant consumers of organic matter
(including carbon), although they were known to exist
Early work in marine ecology that investigated the role of bacteria in oceanic environments
concluded their role to be very minimal.
Traditional methods of counting bacteria (e.g., culturing on agar plates) only yielded small
numbers of bacteria that were much smaller than their true ambient abundance in seawater.
Developments in technology like epiflourescent microscopy for counting bacteria have led to
an understanding of the significant importance of marine bacteria in oceanic environments……
At this scenario the concept of microbial loop was introduced into the field of marine ecology
The microbial loop describes
“a trophic pathway in the marine food web where dissolved organic carbon (DOC) is
returned to higher trophic levels via its incorporation into bacterial (microbial) biomass,
and then coupled with the classic food chain formed by phytoplankton-zooplankton-
nekton”
In a classical marine food chain the photosynthetic or
chemosynthetic primary producers fixes carbon ,
In case of pelagic food web , autotrophic unicellular protists like
diatoms, dinoflagellates and prokaryotes like cyanobacteria fix carbon
with help of sunlight and available nutrients which forms the base of
food chain or the primary producers or the 1st trophic level.
This fixed organic matter is latter transferred to higher trophic levels Microbes/decomposers
through grazing to the herbivorous like ciliates and flagellates,
zooplankton etc. that forms the next trophic level or the secondary
producers
From secondary producers to tertiary producers/ consumers- like
fishes
In the classical food chain the role of bacteria is primarily the
decomposition of dead and decaying organic matter and release of
nutrients and remineralization.
The microbial loop can best be explained starting with Dissolved Organic
Matter.
DOM is the largest organic matter pool in the ocean
DOM consists of molecules which were once parts of living organisms
such as proteins, carbohydrates lipids and nucleic acids of which organic
carbon constitute the major component that makes to use DOC similar
to DOM
DOM reaches the water column through following sources
• the leakage or exudation of fixed carbon from phytoplankton (e.g., mucilaginous exopolymer
from diatoms)
• bacterial lysis
• sloppy feeding by zooplankton
• the excretion of waste products by aquatic animals
• the breakdown or dissolution of organic particles from terrestrial plants and soils
Since more than 95% of organic matter in
marine ecosystems consists of polymeric, high
molecular weight (HMW) compounds, and is
not available directly to most marine organisms
However bacteria can utilize this organic matter
and incorporate it into the biomass
marine bacteria introduce this organic carbon
into the food web, resulting in additional energy
becoming available to higher trophic levels
Bacteria are fed by bacterivorous ciliates,
flagellates and filter feeding crustaceans
including micro-zooplankton and through this
the energy and matter that enter from DOM to
bacteria enters the basic food chain which was
once thought to be unutilized- LOOPING
Factors controlling the microbial loop
Bacterial density: The efficiency of the microbial loop is determined by the density of marine bacteria
within it.
Grazing: grazing activity of small protozoans and various taxonomic groups of flagellates
Viral lysis: Also, viral infection causes bacterial lysis, which release cell contents back into the dissolved
organic matter (DOM) pool, lowering the overall efficiency of the microbial loop.
Mortality from viral infection has almost the same magnitude as that from protozoan grazing. However,
compared to protozoan grazing, the effect of viral lysis can be very different because lysis is highly host-
specific to each marine bacteria.
Both protozoan grazing and viral infection balance the major fraction of bacterial growth.
Nutrient status: In addition, the microbial loop dominates in oligotrophic waters, rather than in
eutrophic areas - there the classical plankton food chain predominates, due to the frequent fresh supply
of mineral nutrients (e.g. spring bloom in temperate waters, upwelling areas).
Importance in marine ecosystems
The microbial loop is of particular importance in increasing the efficiency of the marine food web via the
utilization of dissolved organic matter (DOM), which is typically unavailable to most marine organisms.
The other main effect of the microbial loop in the water column is that it accelerates mineralization
through regenerating production in nutrient-limited environments (e.g. oligotrophic waters).- link to
micro-zooplankton mediated production during SIM in Arabian sea- Post bloom scenario
Marine bacteria are the base of the food web in most oceanic environments, and they improve the trophic
efficiency of both marine food webs and important aquatic processes (such as the productivity of fisheries
and the amount of carbon exported to the ocean floor).
Therefore, the microbial loop, together with primary production, controls the productivity of marine
systems in the ocean especially in oligotrophic open ocean ecosystems.
Decomposition of organic matter by microbes
Breakdown of Organic matter
Major role played by Fungi and Heterotrophic bacteria – microbial enzymes
The organic material is converted into compounds with a smaller energy reserve and finally into original mineral
substances – Remineralization
Complete mineralization occur under the aerobic conditions.
Fats, cellulose and lignin accumulate together with their breakdown products and contribute to the formation of so called
Sea humus
Sugars and proteins are decomposed first then starch, fats and finally high molecular weight compounds such as chitin
cellulose, lignin etc
1 . PROTEIN - proteolysis
Decomposed by proteolytic Bacteria – use protein as source of food
Eg: Pseudomonas spp & Eubacteria
• Uses proteolytic exoenzymes
peptidases
• Polypeptides & oligopeptides aminoacids
• The aminoacids are then used for the syntheses of cell material or
deaminized with liberation of ammonia
2 .UREA- animal and human excreta
• Hydrolytic de-amination
• Break down to Ammonia and Carbon dioxide by Proteus vulgaris
3. Uric acid – Birds and Reptiles
• Enzyme : uricase
• Pseudomonas spp, Vibrio spp, Alcaligenes spp, Nocardia spp
4. SUGARS – Aerobic
• Eubacteria, fungi and actinomycetes
• Hexoses first split into 3C compounds, then converted to pyruvic acid
decarboxylation oxidation carbon dioxide
• SUGARS – anaerobic
• Fermentations – incomplete oxidation
• Fermentation
• In fermentation, another type of heterotrophic metabolism, an organic compound rather than oxygen is
the terminal electron (or hydrogen) acceptor. Less energy is generated from this incomplete form of
glucose oxidation, but the process supports anaerobic growth.
• Eg: Streptococcus, Lactobacillus, Klebsiella, Enterobacter, [Link] etc
• Alcohols, organic acids ( lactic acid, propionic acid), carbon dioxide are produced
5. STARCH
• Composed of amylose and amylopectin
• Hydrolyses by Amylases
• Produces maltose ( disaccharide) which is then hydrolysed by maltase
• Pseudomonas spp, Bacillus spp, actinomycetes and fungi( aerobic)
• Anaerobic : Clostridium spp
6. CELLULOSE- forms the skeleton of plants
• in aerobic condition cellulose is broken down by Myxobacteria and higher fungi ( ascomycetes)
• Eg: Cytophaga spp, Sporocytophaga spp
• Hydrolysed by cellulases to form cellobiose or even glucose
• CELLULOSE –Anaerobic
• Particularly in mud
• Carried out by Clostridia spp
• During anaerobic fermentation ethanol,formic acid,acetic acid, hydrogen and
carbon dioxide are produced
7. XYLANS ( hemicellulose)
• Anaerobically by Clostridium tertium
• Hydrogen, carbon dioxide, fatty acids are produced
•Clostridium tertium
8. PECTINS ( polygalacturonides)
• Breakdown using pectinase
• Produces pectic acid and methanol
• Clostridium pectinovorum
9. CHITIN ( Polyacetylglucosamine) – skeletal element in animals and fungi
• Broken down by Pseudomonas spp, Vibrio spp
• Carried out using chitinase
• Produce N-acetylglucosamine, chitobiose, chitotriose
10. FATS
• Enzyme : lipases
• Lipolytic bacteria : Pseudomonas spp, Vibrio spp, Sarcina spp, Serratia spp,
Bacillus spp
• Hydrolyses into glycerol and fattyacids
• Acts as source of energy and rapidly oxidized
Microbial degradation of hydrocarbons and pesticides
BIODEGRADATION
Breakdown of a substance catalyzed by enzymes in vitro or in vivo.
OR
it is defined as …..the ability of microorganisms to convert toxic chemicals
(xenobiotics) to simpler non-toxic compounds by synthesis of certain enzymes
Biodegradation of xenobiotics can be affected by substrate specificity, nutrition
source, temperature, pH etc.
Xenobiotic – chemical substance found within an organism that is not naturally
produced or expected to be present within the organism
BIODEGRADATION OF HYDROCARBONS
• A hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon.
• The majority of hydrocarbons found on earth naturally occur in crude Oil- petroleum compounds
• Aromatic hydrocarbons , alkanes, alkenes, cycloalkanes and alkyne-based compounds are
different types of hydrocarbons.
Hydrocarbons mainly pollutants from oil refineries and oil [Link] can be degraded by
consortium or cocktail of microorganisms including bacteria, yeast, and fungi
• Bacteria are the most active agents in petroleum degradation
Eg of microbes in HC degradation includes Pseudomonas, Corynebacterium, Arthrobacter,
Nocardia, Mycobacterium etc
BIODEGRADATION OF PESTICIDES
Pesticides are organic chemical purposely intended for
increasing agricultural yield, soil productivity, products quality
minimizing losses of agricultural products caused by crop peet
to control the insect vectors for prevention of the outbreak of human and animal epidemics.
It includes: herbicide, insecticide, nematicide, termiticide, molluscicide, piscicide, avicide, rodenticide, insect
repellent, animal repellent, antimicrobial, fungicide, disinfectant, and sanitizer.
Recently, over 500 compounds are registered and used worldwide as pesticides or metabolites of pesticides.
The most commonly used pesticides in India include organophosphates, organochlorins, neonicotiniods etc.
The various biological systems, as microorganisms, have been used to biotransform pesticides.
The bacteria and fungi are the major entities involved in the pesticide
biodegradation
BACTERIAL DEGRADATION OF PESTICIDES
The isolation and characterization of pesticides degrading microorganisms - new tools to restore polluted
environments or to treat wastes before the final disposition
Upon complete biodegradation of the pesticide, the carbon dioxide and water are formed by the oxidation of
the parent compound and this process provides the energy to the microbes for their metabolism.
The intracellular or extracellular enzymes of the microbes play major role in the degradation of chemical
compounds.
Organochlorine pesticide and their degradation
These include a chlorocarbon, chlorinated hydrocarbon, organochloride, organochlorine or chlorinated
solvent. Eg: DDT. DDE etc
Among microorganisms, bacteria comprise the major group involved in organochlorine degradation,
especially soil habitants belonging to genera Bacillus, Pseudomonas, Arthrobacter and Micrococcus
Bioremediation of organophosphorous
MICROBIAL ENZYME SYSTEMS IN PESTICIDE BIODEGRADATION
Among various strategies used by the microorganism for degradation of xenobiotic compounds the
enzymes play a key role in the biodegradation. The biochemical reactions for degradation are achieved
through a number of different enzymes such as dehydrogenases, cytochrome p450, dioxigenases,
ligninases.