Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate-Polyacrylamide Gel Protein Electrophoresis of Freshwater Photosynthetic Sulfur Bacteria

Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel protein electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) was carried out using different bacterial strains of the photosynthetic sulfur bacteria Chlorobium, Thiocapsa, Thiocystis, and Chromatium cultured in the laboratory, and the natural blooms in two karstic lakes (Lake Cisó and Lake Vilar, NE Spain) where planktonic photosynthetic bacteria (purple and green sulfur bacteria) massively developed accounting for most of the microbial biomass. Several extraction, solubilization, and electrophoresis methods were tested to develop an optimal protocol for the best resolution of the SDS-PAGE. Protein composition from different water depths and at different times of the year was visualized within a molecular mass range between 100 and 15 kDa yielding up to 20 different protein bands. Protein banding patterns were reproducible and changed in time and with depth in agreement with changes in photosynthetic bacteria composition. When a taxonomically stable community was followed in time, differences were observed in the intensity but not in the composition of the SDS-PAGE banding pattern. Three environmental variables directly related to the activity of sulfur bacteria (light, oxygen, and sulfide concentrations) had a significant effect on protein banding patterns and explained 33% of the variance. Changes in natural protein profiles of the bacterial blooms agreed with changes in species composition and in the in situ metabolic state of the populations.