A comparative study of microbial communities using a Winogradsky column prepared from water and sediment from Gee Lake in Commerce, Texas.

摘要

The purpose of this study was to examine two things: The effect of physical conditions on microbial communities in a pond microcosm, and to analyze the different products of selected chemical reactions by observing the predicted outcomes in terms of the growth of selected microbial populations occurring in the pond sediment and water. The “Winogradsky column” is a device invented by the Russian Microbiologist Sergei N. Winogradsky. He discovered and studied sulfur-metabolizing organisms such as Beggiatoa , and articulated the concept of “autotrophy” in bacteria, previously thought unique to plants. Data of physical conditions were collected weekly for twenty-five weeks along with bacterial samples from four predetermined depths within the microcosm's water. The physical conditions measured were pH and dissolved oxygen concentrations. Other parameters were observed in the columns such as the bubbling duration, odor duration, the toxicity, biofilms, bacterial colors, and worms. Water samples were analyzed using a standard methods plate count technique in order to count the bacterial populations and microbial diversity within the four depths. Data were analyzed to find the succession sequence of bacteria in the four depths. The experiment indicated that stratification of physical conditions does exist in our columns.