Chemoautotrophy and anoxygenic photosynthesis within the water column of a large meromictic tropical lake (Lake Kivu, East Africa)

We quantified chemoautotrophic and anoxygenic photosynthetic microbial production in the water column of Lake Kivu, a permanently stratified tropical lake situated amidst volcanic activity, and aimed to identify the microorganisms involved in these processes through the analysis of their phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) content and stable isotope (13C) labelling of PLFA in a set of incubation experiments. Data demonstrate the existence of a biogeochemically active chemoautotrophic bacterial community in the redoxcline of Lake Kivu (50–70 m). PLFA data indicate that the bacterial communities are structured vertically in the water column, with a large dissimilarity between the oxic and anoxic waters. Maximum volumetric dark CO2 fixation rates measured in Lake Kivu were in the same range as values reported from H2S-rich marine redoxclines, such as the Black and Baltic Seas, and the Cariaco Basin. Similarly, maximal chemoautotrophic activities in Lake Kivu were observed in sulfidic waters, just below the oxycline. Anoxygenic photosynthetic production was never observed in the main basin of Lake Kivu. However, anoxygenic phototrophs largely dominated CO2 fixation in the illuminated redoxcline of Kabuno Bay, a shallower ferruginous sub-basin. Overall, this study supports the idea that chemoautotrophs and/or anoxygenic photoautotrophs might play an important role in the flow of carbon and energy in permanently stratified tropical ecosystems. In Lake Kivu, these processes significantly contribute to organic matter biosynthesis and exert an indirect control on oxygenic photoautotrophs by shortcircuiting the vertical transport of nutrients to the illuminated and oxygenated surface waters.