The trophic role of glycolic acid in coastal seawater. II. Seasonal changes in concentration and heterotrophic use in Ipswich Bay,Massachusetts, USA

Glycolic acid is a known algal excretory product which is found in marine waters and is readily metabolized by marine bacteria. The following parameters were measured over the course of a year in Ipswich Bay: chlorophyll a, temperature, viable bacteria, heterotrophic uptake of glycolate, and glycolate concentrations. The latter two were combined to give estimates of the flux of glycolate for a station 3 km out in the bay and for an inshore station. Pronounced seasonal changes were found for all parameters. Statistically significant correlations between heterotrophic V _max and glycolic acid concentrations and temperature were found, but not between planktonic chlorophyll a and any of the other parameters. Measurements of glycolic acid flux yielded an annual flux of 2.84 g m^-2 for the bay station, which is about 0.5% of the bay phytoplankton production. Glycolic acid turns over roughly 12 times per year in the bay. It contributes perhaps as much to bacterial metabolism as any other single substrate, but is apparently not of dominating importance.     

Microbial interactions with the cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa and their dependence on temperature

Associated heterotrophic bacteria alter the microenvironment of cyanobacteria and potentially influence cyanobacterial development. Therefore, we studied interactions of the unicellular freshwater cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa with heterotrophic bacteria. The associated bacterial community was greatly driven by temperature as seen by DNA fingerprinting. However, the associated microbes also closely interacted with the cyanobacteria indicating changing ecological consequence of the associated bacterial community with temperature. Whereas concentration of dissolved organic carbon in cyanobacterial cultures changed in a temperature-dependent manner, its quality greatly varied under the same environmental conditions, but with different associated bacterial communities. Furthermore, temperature affected quantity and quality of cell-bound microcystins, whereby interactions between M. aeruginosa and their associated community often masked this temperature effect. Both macro- and microenvironment of active cyanobacterial strains were characterized by high pH and oxygen values creating a unique habitat that potentially affects microbial diversity and function. For example, archaea including ‘anaerobic’ methanogens contributed to the associated microbial community. This implies so far uncharacterized interactions between Microcystis aeruginosa and its associated prokaryotic community, which has unknown ecological consequences in a climatically changing world.     

Planktonic bacteria in the Humber Estuary; Seasonal variation in population density and heterotrophic activity

Seasonal variation in population density and heterotrophic activity (as maximum potential rate, V _max, for glucose mineralization) of bacteria attached to suspended solids, of free bacteria and of total bacteria was examined in the water of the Humber Estuary, north-east England. At the principal site, which was studied over 2 yr, values of density and activity of attached and total bacteria showed marked seasonal periodicity, being low in summer and high from autumn to spring. This was a consequence of density of attached bacteria being dependent on the concentration of suspended solids, which was high in winter and low during summer. Values of density and activity of free bacteria, which were less than those of attached bacteria, showed no seasonal pattern but fluctuated irregularly and were independent of concentration of suspended solids. At two further sites, which were studied over 1 yr only, the density of bacteria varied seasonally in a similar manner, but the activity of attached and total bacteria showed no distinct seasonal pattern — this may, however, be due to limitations of the data rather than to fundamental differences between the sites studied.     

Using T-RFLP technology to analyze bacterial diversity in the rhizospheric soils of tea tree at different ages北大核心CSCD

The rhizospheric soils of Tieguanyin at different ages were used as the study materials, and terminal-restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) was used to analyze the changes in bacterial diversity. The results showed that the number of T-RFs, Simpson index, and Shannon index decreased significantly with the age of the tea tree. Results of correlation analysis showed that 9 T-RFs from the bacterial community were significantly and positively correlated with the age of the tea tree, and included 34 species of microbes belonging to 10 classes. The 34 microbes were divided into 6 types according to their functional attributes, and included pathogenic bacteria, bacteria that improved soil texture or inhibited pathogenic bacteria, and bacteria associated with the carbon, nitrogen, or sulfur cycles, in which the percentage of pathogenic bacteria was 58.82%. Seventeen T-RFs were significantly and negatively correlated with the age of the tea tree, and included 38 species of bacteria belonging to 12 classes. The 38 bacterial species were divided into 5 types according to their functional attributes, and included pathogenic bacteria, bacteria that improved soil quality or inhibited pathogenic bacteria, and bacteria associated with the carbon cycle or nitrogen cycle, in which all the others, barring the pathogenic bacteria, accounted for 78.95% of the bacterial population. In brief, the diversity and function of bacteria in the rhizospheric soil of tea tree changed significantly with the age of the tea tree, which provides a theoretical basis for studying the interactions of bacterial communities. © 2018 Science Press. All rights reserved.     

Comparison of Ground Water Bacterial Cell Sizes from the Agricultural, Domestic and Industrial Areas of Mysore District, Karnataka State, India

A two-year study on temporal variations in the ground water heterotrophic bacterial cell sizes of free living bacteria(FLB)and particle bound bacteria(PBB)from the agricultural,domestic and industrial areas was carried out from Februar y2005 to January 2007.The overall mean cell length of FLB and PBB was similar in all the ground water studied.However,the season wise grouped data revealed significant seasonal changes in cell length of FLB and PBB,as smaller bacteria were noticed during rainy season in the ground water in agricultural area in both the years,and only in the second year of study in domestic and industrial areas.Generally,it was noticed that there were summer maximum and rainy minimum values of the cell length of PBB in the ground water in agricultural,domestic and industrial areas in the second year of study.The Pearson's correlations showed the presence of 8(in agricultural area),5(in domestic)and 3(in industrial) significant correlations with environmental(Physico-chemical)parameters,respectively.The regression analysis revealed that as much as 12%of variation in the mean length of FL Bwas due to NO3( )in agricultural area and 9%due to total solids( )indomestic area.However,the 8% variation in bacterial cell size of FLB was due to Mg( )in industrial area.Whereas,13%variation in mean length of PBB was due to S04( )in agncultural area and 10%due to total anions of strong acid(TASA)( )in domestic area.Furthermore,10% of variation Was due to PO4( )in industrial area.Thus,the statistical analysis revealed that several environmental variables were potentially responsible for some of the temporal variations in aquatic heterotrophic bacterial cell size,suggesting probably the stressed environment in these ecosystems.     

Physico-chemical and microbial characteristics of the coral reef environment of the Gulf of Mannar marine biosphere reserve, India

Investigation on physico-chemical parameters and bacteial characteristics of the coral reef environs of the Gulf of Mannar biosphere reserve was studied. The study found the influence of different physico-chemical parameters on one another and also on the distribution of the total heterotrophic bacteria (THB) in the coral reef areas. Nutrients exhibited considerable seasonal and spatial variations with influence on the bacterial population. Coral reef areas recorded higher bacterial population density both in water (3.5 to 18 x 10(5) CFU ml(-1)) and sediment (1 to 14 x 10(7) CFU g(-1)) samples than the non coral reef areas (3.4 to 10.5 x 10(4) CFU ml(-1) in water and 0.9 to 7 x 10(6) CFU g(-1)). The study also found the dominance of gram negative groups at all the three stations (64.73, 63,5 and 72.59%) with Pseudomonas contributing maximum number of strains in all the samples. In addition Vibrio, Aeromonas, Flavobacterium, Cytophaga, Enterobacter and Alcaligenes were also recorded. The gram positive group was represented by Bacillus, Micrococcus, Arthrobacter and Corynebacterium. The genetic composition of THB isolated from the coral mucus revealed the presence of Vibrio and Micrococcus in all the coral mucus.     

Whole-lake dissolved inorganic 13C additions reveal seasonal shifts in zooplankton diet

Sustained whole-lake additions of 13C-enriched dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), intended to increase experimentally the delta13C of DIC in the epilimnion of a small lake with high dissolved organic carbon (DOC), were made during three seasonal periods (spring, summer, and autumn). Coupled with carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis of zooplankton and several of their putative food sources, these additions were used to investigate seasonal changes in the relative contributions of different food sources to zooplankton diet in the lake. Four main potential food sources were considered: phytoplankton, heterotrophic bacteria (HB), methanotrophic bacteria (MOB), and green sulfur bacteria (GSB). Because the number of potential food sources exceeded the number of isotopes analyzed, a computer program (IsoSource) was used to estimate the range of possible contributions of the various food sources. During all three periods the added inorganic 13C quickly increased the epilimnetic DIC delta13C by between 18 per thousand and 21 per thousand above the initial value of approximately -21 per thousand. This 13C enrichment of DIC was rapidly transmitted to the particulate organic matter (POM), which included photosynthetic phytoplankton. In spring and summer, delta13C of both adult and juvenile Daphnia increased by approximately 10 per thousand, indicating that Daphnia utilized autochthonous carbon. However, this 13C labeling of Daphnia was not so obvious during the autumn period, when their delta13C generally decreased. According to the IsoSource model outputs based on both delta13C and delta15N values, Daphnia utilized all four potential food source types during spring, summer, and autumn, but in different proportions. The possible contribution of phytoplankton to Daphnia diet was substantial (25-71%) in all seasons. The possible contributions of the bacterial food sources were more variable. The possible contribution of GSB was minor (0-20%) at all times and negligible in autumn. The possible contribution of HB was higher but very variable. Methanotrophic bacteria always made a significant contribution to Daphnia diet and were likely the single most important food source in autumn. Since both HB and MOB in this high-DOC lake probably depend largely on allochthonous organic carbon, our results highlight the seasonal variability in the potential importance of ecosystem subsidies in lake food webs.     

Biomass partitioning of benthic microbes in a Baltic inlet: relationships between bacteria, algae, heterotrophic flagellates and ciliates

 The structure of a benthic microbial food web and its seasonal changes were studied in the shallow brackish waters of the island of Hiddensee, northeastern Germany, at two sites in close proximity by monthly or bimonthly sampling from July 1995 to June 1996. Abundance and biomass of phototrophic and non-phototrophic bacteria, heterotrophic flagellates (HF) and ciliates as well as the biomass of microphytobenthos were determined in the upper 0.3 cm sediment layer. Abundance of organisms showed strong positive correlation with water temperature, with the exception of the bacteria. Non-phototrophic bacterial numbers ranged from 7 × 10⁸ to 6.7 × 10⁹ cells cm⁻³ and phototrophic bacterial abundance from 4 × 10⁷ to 2.7 × 10⁸. Heterotrophic protist abundance ranged from 8 × 10³ to 104 × 10³ ind cm⁻³ for HF and from 39 to 747 ind cm⁻³ for ciliates. The biomass partitioning demonstrated the primary importance of non-phototrophic bacteria (min. 0.83, max. 84.87 μg C cm⁻³), followed by the microphytobenthos (min. 1.32, max. 50.93 μg C cm⁻³). The heterotrophic protists contributed roughly the same fraction to the total microbial biomass, with the biomass of the HF being slightly higher (HF 0.23 to 1.76 μg C cm⁻³, ciliates 0.04 to 1.17 μg C cm⁻³). Taxonomic classification of the benthic HF revealed the euglenids to be the most important group in terms of abundance and biomass, followed by thaumatomastigids and kinetoplastids. Other important groups were apusomonads, cercomonads, pedinellids and cryptomonads. The structure of the HF assemblage showed strong seasonal changes with euglenids being the most abundant taxa in summer, while apusomonads and thaumatomastigids were predominant in winter. Similar to the pelagic microbial food web, benthic picophototrophic bacteria were occasionally abundant, and the feeding modes of heterotrophic protists exhibited a great variety (predominantly omnivores, bacterivores, herbivores or predators). Filter-feeding HF were of little importance. Contrary to the pelagic environment, a top-down control on total benthic bacterial numbers by HF seemed unlikely at the studied stations which were characterised by muddy sand. Received: 6 January 1999 / Accepted: 21 October 1999     

Factors affecting enumeration and isolation of actinomycetes from Chesapeake Bay and Southeastern Atlantic Ocean sediments

Studies of the seasonal distribution of heterotrophic bacteria in Chesapeake Bay (USA) led us to the observation that fungizone was selective for actinomycetes without appreciably altering the total viable aerobic, heterotrophic bacterial counts. A study of the actinomycete populations in the Bay was undertaken, with several media compared for ability to enrich for actinomycetes: basal, casein, Czapek, starch-casein, glycerol-glycine, chitin and oil agar No. 2. Between 40 and 100% of the colonies appearing on chitin and oil No. 2 media were found to be actinomycetes, compared with <2% for the other media employed. It was also found that if sediment samples are frozen, a practice followed when laboratory facilities are not available in the field, a decrease in the total counts and in the actinomycete colony counts occurred. However, on a proportional basis, a slight increase in the percent actinomycetes was noted. A minimum of 21 days incubation time is recommended for recovery of actinomycetes. Also, the absence of NaCl from the actinomycete isolation media and incubation temperatures ≥15°C should give good recoveries of actinomycetes. A seasonal distribution of actinomycetes was noted for Chesapeake Bay, with maximal populations of actinomycetes observed in March and November. Actinomycetes were isolated in the ocean from depths ranging from 7 to 7,790 m. Greater numbers of actinomycetes were isolated using an incubation temperature of 25°C for the estuarine stations and 15°C for the deep-ocean stations. Greater numbers of actinomycetes were associated with polluted environments close to shore.     

Microbial associations in sponges. II. Numerical analysis of sponge and water bacterial populations

Three taxonomically distant sponges Pericharax heteroraphis, Jaspis stellifera and Neofibularia irata contain phenotypically similar bacterial symbionts which differ from bacteria in the ambient water. These symbionts are predominant in the sponges and were detected after computer analysis of 526 heterotrophic bacterial strains tested for 76 characters. These facultative anaerobic symbionts metabolize a wide range of compounds and may be important in removing waste products while the sponges are not circulating water. The bacteria produce sticky-mucoid colonies and thus would contribute to sponge structural rigidity. The fourth sponge Ircinia wistarii contains a mixed aerobic population similar to that in the ambient water. The majority of the bacteria are located around the inhalant canals, facilitating the uptake of dissolved organic matter and oxygen from the incoming water.     

Pyruvate-utilizing bacteria as potential contributors to the food web in the Arabian Gulf

Water samples from the Kuwaiti coasts of the Arabian Gulf were used for counting and isolating bacteria capable of growth on low molecular weight organic compounds known to be released by picocyanobacteria. The compounds tested were potassium acetate, sodium pyruvate, fumaric acid, succinic acid, sodium citrate and glycerol. For comparison, the bacterial numbers on glucose (a conventional carbon source) and Tween 80 and crude oil (unconventional carbon sources), as sole sources of carbon and energy were also determined. Sodium pyruvate was, in most cases, the carbon and energy source most commonly utilized by the cultivable surface water bacteria. The most common cultivable bacterial genera on the test carbon sources were Pseudoalteromonas, Vibrio, Cobetia and Roseobacter. Less common genera were Rhodococcus, Pseudomonas and Bacillus. Quantification of heterotrophic bacteria associated with cultures of local picocyanobacterial strains, originally isolated from the Gulf surface water, also revealed that the carbon source most commonly utilized by cultivable bacteria was sodium pyruvate. However, a different bacterial composition was identified, with Alcanivorax, Stappia and Marinobacter as the major heterotrophic genera. All heterotrophic bacteria that grew on sodium pyruvate could also grow on β-alanine, as sole sources of carbon and energy. From this study we suggest that the Arabian Gulf bacteria utilizing picocyanobacterial low molecular weight compounds, particularly pyruvate may potentially contribute to the food web in this aquatic system. The experiments comply with the current laws of Kuwait.     

不同C/N值下亚硝酸盐氧化菌和异养菌混合体系的微生物多样性

采用PCR-RFLP技术研究了不同C/N比下亚硝酸盐氧化菌及异养菌混合体系的微牛物多样性,并探讨了微生物菌群结构与其功能(硝化件能)的关系.C/N=0时,混合体系主要由自养菌和寡营养菌(85.1%)组成,包括亚硝酸盐氧化菌(NOB)、拟杆菌门、α-变形菌纲、浮霉菌门和绿色非硫细菌中的一些菌株.C/N=0.44时,混合体系中的自养菌减少,异养菌(主要是γ-变形菌纲的成员)大量出现.C/N=8.82时,γ-变形菌纲的菌株尤其是反硝化菌Pseudomonas sp.占主导(93.8%),与此同时,随着C/N升高,该混合体系的硝化性能也由专一的亚硝酸盐氧化过程转变为同时硝化反硝化过程.微生物菌群结构的转变较好地解释了其硝化性能的改变.本研究揭示了微生物菌群结构与其功能的内在联系,同时表明PCR-RFLP技术与化学分析相结合是研究微生物菌群结构与功能的有力工具.图3表2参13     

Determination and properties of actively metabolizing heterotrophic bacteria in the sea,investigated by means of micro-autoradiography

Substrate transformation and microbial biomass production in aquatic ecosystems depend mainly on the total number of actively metabolizing heterotrophic bacteria. The most common methods used concern the determination of either the colony-forming bacteria or the total number of bacteria including autotrophs and inactive organisms a micro-autoradiographic method is presented which enables the substrate uptake of single bacteria by means of ³H-amino-acid mixture and Nuclepore filters to be determined. The standardization procedure revealed the greatest success after 3 h incubation with 10 Ci/ml tritiated amino-acid mixture and an exposure of 14 days to the X-ray film. Preliminary experiments showed inactivation of an active fresh-water population from 100% to 0.6% within 3 h at 28S. With increasing distance from the shore, the number of colony-forming units decreases from 6 to 0.01% of the total number of active heterotrophic bacteria. It is concluded from the results that the fraction of very small heterotrophic bacteria which cannot be cultured on nutrient media is responsible for the continuous breakdown of organic matter in off-shore regions of the sea.     

Soil bacterial community characteristics of rice-rice-rape crop rotation北大核心CSCD

To investigate the characteristic changes in soil bacterial community under rice-rice-rape rotation in southern China, soil samples from a 30-year crop rotation and continuous cropping system were collected. Clone library and gene sequence analysis were adopted. The PCR amplification was carried out using universal primers of the 16S rDNA gene. The amplified fragments were then used to construct a clone library. The subclones were sequenced and analyzed. The experimental analysis showed that, in July 2015, and October and April 2016, the Shannon Wiener index and richness index of bacteria from the rotation treatment soils were higher than those of the continuous cropping treatment soil. The soil bacterial diversity of the rotation treatment was higher than that of the continuous cropping treatment. The results of BLAST analysis in the GenBank showed that Proteobacteria accounted 55% of total bacteria in the rotation treatment soil, whereas it accounted for 45% of total bacteria in continuous cropping treatment soil. Gemmatimonadetes accounted for 13% of the total bacteria in rotation treatment and 10% in the continuous cropping treatment. The proportion of Acidobacteria, Firmicutes, and Planctomycetes in rotation soil was less than those in the continuous cropping soil. Proteobacteria and Gemmatimonadetes were the dominant flora in soil. The changes in the predominant bacteria affected the diversity of soil bacteria in rotation and continuous cropping. The sequence analysis showed that the dominant bacteria in the soil were Alphaproteobacteria, Betaproteobacteria, and Gammaproteobacteria, which higher than those in the rice-rice continuous cropping treatment. The sequences similar to Chloroflexi were observed in the rice-rice-rape rotation soils, but not in the continuous cropping soils. The results showed that the soil microbial population is conducted by agricultural tillage, and rice-rice-rape rotation increased the soil bacterial abundance compared with that of the rice-rice continuous treatment. © 2018 Science Press. All rights reserved.     

Occurrence and seasonal variation of bacterial indicators of faecal pollution along Thoothukudi Coast, Tamil Nadu

Theprevalence and seasonal variation of bacterial indicators of faecal pollution such as total coliform bacteria, faecal coliform bacteria, Escherichia coli and faecal streptococci were investigated in samples of water and beach sand from the four fish landing centres of Thoothukudi. Further the samples were screened for Salmonella to study the reliability of faecal indicator bacteria as an index of human pathogenic bacteria. Total coliform bacteria, faecal coliform bacteria and Escherichia coli were isolated from all four landing centres from undetectable to the maximum detectable level of over Most Probable Number 140 throughout the year with no obvious seasonal variation. Faecal streptococci were also detected in most samples. There was no discernable relationship between faecal indicators and physical parameters. The relationship between faecal indicators and Salmonella was not significant (p > 0.05). The results showed that the coastal waters along Thoothukudi is polluted and presents a potential risk to public for recreational and fishing activities.     

Bacterial production in North Sea sediments: clues to seasonal and spatial variations

Benthic bacterial production and biomass were measured at 16 stations in the North Sea covering a wide range of sediment types from the Southern Bight and the English coast to the Skagerrak. Stations were sampled in August 1991 and February 1992. The best predictor for summer/winter and spatial variations in benthic bacterial production in North Sea sediments was temperature. In winter the ranges in temperature were too small to account for the spatial variations in benthic bacterial production. The direct effect of temperature alone on bacterial production could not explain the variations. The apparent Q₁₀-values derived from the relations between bacterial growth and temperature exceeded the range in Q₁₀-values generally accepted for bacterial growth (between 2 and 3). Temperature was assumed to covary closely with substrate availability for bacteria. Due to its significant seasonality phytopigment content of the sediment (chlorophyll a and pheopigment) was found to be a better indicator of substrate availability than sediment organic matter, which did not demonstrate seasonality. Temperature and phytopigment accounted for up to 88% of the seasonal and spatial variations in bacterial production. The significant relations between bacterial production and biomass in summer coinciding with significant relations between bacterial biomass and phytopigments suggest that variations in phytopigments in the sediment may be indicators of the variability of labile components regulating bacterial production in sediments.     

应用流式细胞术测定淡水、海洋沉积物中异养细菌前处理条件的选择

目前流式细胞术(FCM)已被广泛应用于水体异养细菌的检测,采用适当的前处理方法可将黏附在沉积物颗粒上的异养细菌提取到水相中进而利用FCM进行检测.选择合适的前处理方法是将FCM应用于沉积物异养细菌检测的关键.论文对FCM测定沉积物中异养细菌的前处理方法进行了探讨,实验同步考虑了淡水及海洋沉积物.结果表明,对于实验所用淡水、海洋沉积物,较优的前处理条件为:1mmol·L-1焦磷酸钠作为分散剂,暗处孵育10min,20w、40KHz水浴超声1min,并每30s人工振荡1次,2800r·min-1常温离心萃取3次.     

High recovery of culturable bacteria from the surfaces of marine algae

The culturability of heterotrophic marine bacteria obtained from the surfaces of two species of marine algae (Lobophora variegata andHalimeda copiosa) was assessed by comparing total DAPI-stained cell counts to colony-forming bacterial counts on two agar media. The colony-forming bacterial counts on a low-nutrient medium (LN) consisting of seawater and agar were significantly greater for both algal species than counts obtained on a high-nutrient medium (HN) similar in composition to that typically used for the isolation of heterotrophic marine bacteria. On average, 14 and 58%, respectively, of the total bacteria fromL. variegata andH. copiosa were culturable on LN. These recovery rates far exceed those typically reported for marine bacteria. Of 119 LN strains obtained in pure culture, 55% failed to grow on HN. The yeast extract component of HN (1.5 gl^-1) was responsible for the majority of the observed inhibition, suggesting that this nutrient can be highly toxic to marine bacteria. Eighty-nine percent of the strains inhibited by HN were capable of growth when the nutrients in this medium were diluted by a factor of 100 with seawater. Of 66 epiphytic strains, 30 (45%) initially inhibited by HN showed the ability to adapt to this medium after a period of laboratory handling. The initial inability of low-nutrient-adapted bacteria to grow on high-nutrient media may be due to nutrient shock. The results presented here indicate that the culturability of specific populations of marine bacteria can be dramatically improved by the use of low-nutrient media. Further, the importance of developing new medium formulations that eliminate traditional nutrients, some of which are clearly toxic to bacteria, is demonstrated.     

Heterotrophic bacteria in Long Island Sound

Correlated with a study of heterotrophic bacteria from cultures of larval bivalve molluses, bacteria were studied from the water column over an oyster bed in Lont Island Sound, USA. Samples taken biweekly for 1 year showed bacterial densities ranging from 1.2x10³/ml in summer to 3.8x10⁴/ml in winter. Variation in seasonal density mirrored that of phytoplankton. Gram-negativ rods constituted 99% of the isolate. Eight genera were identified, but 92.3% of these were Achromobacter, Flavobacterium, and Pseudomonas. Pseudomonads dominated the summer flora, whereas flavobacteria were most abundant in spring. Types varied seasonally, but proteolytic, lipolytic, and amylolytic activity appeared independent of season.     

Aerobic heterotrophic bacterial diversity in sediments of Rajakkamangalam estuary, south west coast of India

The abundance of aerobic heterotrophic bacterial population in the sediment sample of six experimental stations (S1 to S6) at Rajakkamangalam estuary was studied for a period of one year from March, 1998 to February, 1999. The important bacterial genera encountered were Pseudomonas, Bacillus, Vibrio, Escherichia, Micrococcus, Enterobacter, Salmonella, Aeromonas, Shigella, Klebsiella, Proteus, Alkaligenes, Staphylococcus, Citrobacter and Flavobacterium. The bacterial population based on numerical counts showed wide fluctuations in their distribution at different stations. Among the bacterial genera Pseuaomonas was found to be the dominant genus during the experimental period. The qualitative and quantitative distribution of microflora in the sediment samples are discussed.