Effects of hydrostatic pressure on growth and luminescence of a moderately-piezophilic luminous bacteria Photobacterium phosphoreum ANT-2200.

Bacterial bioluminescence is commonly found in the deep sea and depends on environmental conditions. Photobacterium phosphoreum ANT-2200 has been isolated from the NW Mediterranean Sea at 2200-m depth (in situ temperature of 13°C) close to the ANTARES neutrino telescope. The effects of hydrostatic pressure on its growth and luminescence have been investigated under controlled laboratory conditions, using a specifically developed high-pressure bioluminescence system.

Hydrostatic pressure affects membrane and storage lipid compositions of the piezotolerant hydrocarbon-degrading Marinobacter hydrocarbonoclasticus strain #5.

A new piezotolerant alkane-degrading bacterium (Marinobacter hydrocarbonoclasticus strain #5) was isolated from deep (3475 m) Mediterranean seawater and grown at atmospheric pressure (0.1 MPa) and at 35 MPa with hexadecane as sole source of carbon and energy. Modification of the hydrostatic pressure influenced neither the growth rate nor the amount of degraded hexadecane (approximately 90%) during 13 days of incubation.