Prokaryotic dynamics in the meromictic coastal Lake Faro (Sicily, Italy)
Raffa C.; Rizzo C.; Strous M.; De Domenico E.; Sanfilippo M.; Michaud L.; Lo Giudice A.;
Lake Faro, in the North-Eastern corner of Sicily (Italy), shows the typical stratification of a
meromictic tempered basin, with a clear identification of the mixolimnion and the monimolimnion,
separated by an interfacial chemocline. In this study, an annual-scaled study on the space-time
distribution of the microbial communities in water samples of Lake Faro was performed by both
ARISA (Amplified Ribosomal Intergenic Spacer Analysis) and CARD-FISH (Catalyzed Reporter
Deposition-Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization) approaches. A correlation betweenmicrobial parameters
and both environmental variables (i.e., temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, redox potential, salinity,
chlorophyll-a) and mixing conditions was highlighted, with an evident seasonal variability. The most
significative differences were detected by ARISA between the mixolimnion and the monimolimnion,
and between Spring and Autumn, by considering layer and season as a factor, respectively.
2019 - Articolo in rivista
Diversity (Basel, Online) (2019). doi:10.3390/d11030037
Keywords: CARD-FISH, ARISA, nutrients, prokaryotic distribution, prokaryotic diversity