Carbon:volume (w/v) ratio in natural assemblages of bacteria and in cultured E. coli

Range natural assemblages of marine bacteria 23-38%: cultured E. coli 12 %
Organism bacteria
Reference Meinhard Simon, Farooq Azam, Protein content and protein synthesis rates of planktonic marine bacteria. Marine ecology progress series. Oldendorf, 1989 Vol 51 pp.201-213 p.201 right column bottom paragraph
Primary Source Ingraham, J. L., Maloe, O., Neidhardt, F. C. (1983). Growth of the bacterial cell. Sinauer Association, Sunderland, Mass AND Bjørnsen, P. K. (1986). Automatic determination of bacterioplankton biomass by image analysis. Appl. environ. Microbiol. 51 1199-1204 AND Lee S, Fuhrman JA. Relationships between Biovolume and Biomass of Naturally Derived Marine Bacterioplankton. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1987 Jun53(6):1298-303PubMed ID16347077, 16347362
Method Primary source Bjørnsen 1986 abstract: "Image analysis was applied to epifluorescense microscopy of acridine orange-stained plankton samples." Primary source Lee and Fuhrman 1987 abstract: "In the present study, natural bacterioplankton assemblages were freshly collected, passed through 0.6-mum-pore-size Nuclepore filters to remove larger particulate materials, and diluted for growth in 0.22-mum-pore-size Millipore filter-sterilized unenriched seawater…Cells were collected on glass-fiber GF/F filters, and biovolumes were corrected for cells passing these filters, C and N were measured with a CHN analyzer [a scientific instrument used to measure carbon, hydrogen, and Nitrogen]. [Investigators'] criteria for size measurement by epifluorescence photomicrography were confirmed with fluorescent microspheres of known diameters."
Comments P.201 right column bottom paragraph: "Methods for quantifying bacterial biomass and rates of bacterial production have been evolving. An important recent finding is that natural assemblages of bacteria are very rich in carbon and nitrogen, they contain 23 to 38% (w/v) carbon, compared with 12% for cultured Escherichia coli (primary sources)."
Entered by Uri M
ID 115318