Epiphytic bacterial production on Zostera marina

Abstract

This study tested if epiphytic bacteria on Z. marina L. (eelgrass) could obtain sufficient organic carbon from leaf photosynthesis to support their production. When individual Z. marina leaves were placed with tips in dark chambers and bases in illuminated chambers and sodium super(14)C-bicarbonate was injected into the illuminated chambers, radioactivity appeared in the dark chambers only by translocation through the leaves. The flux of organic carbon from Z. marina to the bacteria was approximately 0.3 mu gC h super(-1) cm super(-2) while the highest bacterial production, based on super(3)H-thymidine incorporation rates, was 0.4 mu gC h super(-1) cm super(-2).