Application of the ³H-Leucine incorporation technique for quantifying rates of bacterial secondary production associated with decaying wetland plant litter

<p>The ³H-leucine incorporation technique for quantifying rates of bacterial production has increased in popularity since its original description for bacterioplankton communities. Previous studies examining ³H-leucine-incorporation conditions for bacterial communities in other habitats have reported a wide range of final leucine concentrations to achieve saturation-level uptake. This study assessed the application of the ³H-leucine-incorporation procedure for measuring bacterial production associated with decaying wetland plant litter. Substrate saturation experiments were conducted on three dates for bacteria colonizing decaying litter of <em>Typha angustifolia</em>, <em>Schoenoplectus validus</em>, and <em>Phragmites australis</em>. Incorporation of 3H-leucine into protein exhibited a biphasic saturation curve, with lower apparent K_m values ranging from 400 nM to 4.2 μM. Upper apparent K_m values ranged from 1.3 to 21.7 μM. These results suggest differential uptake by litter-associated microorganisms, with lower K_m values possibly representing bacterial uptake and higher K_m values representing a combination of both bacterial and nonbacterial uptake.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science (MS)

Level thesis:degree_level

Open Access Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Biology

Year

2006

Author dc:creator

• Gillies, Jane E

Contributors dc:contributor

• Kevin A. Kuehn, PhD, Chair
• Steven N. Francoeur, PhD
• Glenn Walker, PhD,

• Phragmites australis
• Schoenoplectus
• Typha
• Amino acids
• Biology

Repository record dc:identifier

https://commons.emich.edu/theses/75

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:commons.emich.edu:theses-1074