Isolation and distribution of oligotrophic marine bacteria.

A useful plate culture method for isolating oligotrophic bacteria found in the low-nutrient environment of the open sea has been developed. The method uses a glass-fiber filter substitute for agar. Nutritional requirements of oligotrophic bacteria consisted of a dilute mutrient solution containing 16.8 mg C/l total organic carbon aseptically added to the sterilized filter. Distribution of bacteria in oceanic and neritic seawater was determined using the membrane filter method. In the case of seawater containing less than 0.5 mg/l dissolved carbohydrates, plate counts of oligotrophic bacteria were found to be several- to 100-fold greater than the heterotrophic bacterial counts enumerated by standard methods routinely used for enumeration. However, in seawater containing approximately over 0.5 mg/l dissolved carbohydrates, heterotrophic bacterial counts were 10-fold greater than oligotrophic bacterial counts.