ARTIFICIAL SEAWATER MEDIA (ASW)

 

FROM: Goldman & McCarthy, 1978.  L&O 23:695-703

            McLachlan, 1964.  Can. J. Microbiol.  10:769-782

 

Typically, we make up 8 liter batches of media at a time.  A mark or piece of tape on the carboy should indicate the required volume

 

1. Add A. and B. to Distilled/Deionized Water mix and bring to volume then autoclave:

 

            A. "Dry" components:

 

Mineral Salts

Conc.

MW

grams/8 liters

NaCl

400 mM

58.45

187

MgSO4-7H2O

20 mM

246.48

39.4

CaCl2-2H2O

10 mM

110.99

8.88

KBr

1.7 mM

119.01

1.62

KCl

10 mM

74.56

5.96

MgCl2-6H2O

20 mM

203.3

32.5

           

            B. "Wet" components:

 

Solution

Concentration

ml per 8 liters

H3BO3

0.2 mM (can be doubled for alkalinity determinations)

8 ml (of 12.36 g/l stock)

NaNO3

f/2

8 ml

Vitamin Mix

f/2

4 ml (in freezer)

TRIZMA

5%, pH 7.8

5 ml/liter

 

2.  Autoclave separately:

 

A.        f/2 trace metals    ( 1 ml per liter of media)         For recipe see  f/2 media

B.         f/2 phosphate       ( 1 ml per liter of media)        f/2 media


C.        f/2 silicate              ( 1 ml per liter of media)    if needed  see f/2 media....  

 

 

 

 

 

3.  To make complete media:

 

A.      Allow 1 and 2 to cool to room temperature.

B.      Add items 1 & 2 together (sterile procedure)

C.      Prepare 1.34 g of NaHCO3  in approx 30-40 ml water;  Filter sterilize through sterile filter disc (Gelman Acrodisc; 0.2 um).

D.       It is recommended to "bubble" the media for 12 hours with air.  Typically, our media bottles have caps having two long tubes attached, one for sampling and one for bubbling with air...the air (from an aquarium pump) passes through a bacterial air vent/filter.  A short tube (above the media) attached to the bottle cap allows the air to vent from the bottle.   If no bacterial air vents are available, sterile glass wool will do.  

 

4.  For Iron limitation work, wash all glassware with 10% HCL and rinse well with distilled water.

            Follow above recipe, BUT

 

A.       Make up f/2 trace metals WITHOUT iron.  ie add 1 ml of each of the primary trace metal stocks  (see f/2 media) but no ferric sequestrene and bring to 1 liter for stock solution.  This solution replaces the trace metal solution in part 2A. 

B.              If you need to add iron later, make up a 0.5 mM FeCL3 and EDTA stock solution and add 4 ml per liter of media...

(0.186 g Na2EDTA and 0.135 g FeCl3 6H2O per liter for stock solution)

 

5.  More Notes

 

A.              The TRIZMA solution above should not be pH'd by HCL titration...use the proper proportions of TRIZMA-HCL and TRIZMA-Base.

(18.22 g HCL and 6.78 g Base in 500 ml dist. H2O )

B.       We also add one ml per liter of media of 10 uM Selenous acid for some species. 

 

 

6.      Preparing Iron Limited cultures

 

A.              Grow two 1 liter cultures in ASW f/2 nutrients and 250 nM Fe

B.              Grow to approx. 106 cells/ml and add one liter culture to 8 liters of –Fe media for five days.  Do cell counts, chl determinations and FRR measurements to determine degree of Fe limitation.  To test iron limitation, take 100 ml of iron limited culture and add to sterile Erlenmeyer flask.  Add 50 ul of 0.5 mM FeCl3-EDTA solution.  Incubate overnight and the next day check cell count, chlorophyll and FRR measurements… you should see recovery from iron limitation.