The unreliability of the kinetic approach to measuring bacterial mineralization activities at low in situ temperatures in an acidic aquatic environment

This paper concerns the kinetic approach to measuring glucose mineralization by planktonic bacteria in Whitson Lake, a moderately acidic lake. For all three samplings, plots of the amount of glucose mineralized vs time of incubation were linear at both high and low concentrations of added glucose. When sample water buffered around the in situ pH was used in these time studies, linear relationships were again evident, but there was a reduction in the rates of glucose mineralization activity. Nevertheless, the kinetic approach usually failed to generate the Michaelis—Menten response at the necessary level of statistical significance to justify calculations of turnover times and V_max values. And, buffering the pH around the in situ pH did not insure that the Michaelis—Menten response would be obtained.These observations are discussed in the light of our earlier observations involving an extremely acid-stressed lake.