Doctoral Dissertations

Date of Award

12-2005

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Major

Microbiology

Major Professor

Steven W. Wilhelm

Committee Members

Gary Sayler, Lee Cooper, Todd Reynolds, David A. Hutchins

Abstract

Viral lysis is responsible for a significant fraction of bacterioplankton mortality in marine systems. This work shows that viral lysis of both heterotrophic bacterial and autotrophic cyanobacterial plankton releases iron (Fe) at a greater rate than is released from unlysed cells. These studies also show that the Fe released is bound to organic ligands, these ligands are not siderophores, and that these ligands have Fe binding stability constants similar to organic ligands found in seawater. Further, these studies have shown Fe released via viral lysis to be highly bioavailable to a range of model marine plankton and may potentially satisfy the demands of primary producers in Fe limited marine systems.

Download
Files over 3MB may be slow to open. For best results, right-click and select "save as..."

Included in

Microbiology Commons

Share

COinS