scholarly journals Archaeal, bacterial, and eukaryal microbial community structure of sediment and seawater in a coastal region near Puerto Nuevo, Baja California

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabah Ul-Hasan ◽  
Robert M. Bowers ◽  
Andrea Figueroa-Montiel ◽  
Alexei F. Licea-Navarro ◽  
J. Michael Beman ◽  
...  

AbstractMicrobial communities control numerous biogeochemical processes critical for ecosystem function and health, particularly in coastal ecosystems. However, comparatively little is known about microbial community structure in coastal regions, such that basic patterns of microbial biodiversity, such as species richness and community composition, are generally understudied. To better understand the global patterns of microbial biodiversity in coastal ecosystems, we characterized sediment and seawater microbial communities for three sites near Puerto Nuevo (Baja California, Mexico) using 16S and 18S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing methods. We found that sediment bacteria, archaea, and eukaryote microbial communities contained approximately 5 × 10^2 fold greater operational taxonomic units (OTUs) than their seawater-based counterparts (p < 0.001). Further, distinct bacterial, archaeal and eukaryal phyla were found in sediment and seawater samples. The phyla Acidobacteria, Chlorobi, and Chloroflexi were found to be abundant and unique to the sediment and Cyanobacteria, Spirochaetae, and Woesearchaeota to the seawater environment. Apicomplexa and Arthropoda were abundant eukaryal phyla found uniquely in the sediment whereas the Cryptomonadales and Protalveolata were detected only in the seawater. Furthermore, bacterial and archaeal communities were statistically different by site (p < 0.05) in both seawater and sediment samples for the Major Outlet site, the site closest to a residential area. In contrast, eukaryal microbial communities were only different among sites in the seawater samples. Overall, these results suggest that our understanding of coastal microbial biodiversity patterns require spatially robust sampling. This study contributes to a growing body of foundational microbial biodiversity and ecology knowledge, providing context to the global change that is induced by urban development.

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (9) ◽  
pp. 2265 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liangxiang Dai ◽  
Guanchu Zhang ◽  
Zipeng Yu ◽  
Hong Ding ◽  
Yang Xu ◽  
...  

Background: Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.), an important oilseed and food legume, is widely cultivated in the semi-arid tropics. Drought is the major stress in this region which limits productivity. Microbial communities in the rhizosphere are of special importance to stress tolerance. However, relatively little is known about the relationship between drought and microbial communities in peanuts. Method: In this study, deep sequencing of the V3-V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene was performed to characterize the microbial community structure of drought-treated and untreated peanuts. Results: Taxonomic analysis showed that Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, Saccharibacteria, Chloroflexi, Acidobacteria and Cyanobacteria were the dominant phyla in the peanut rhizosphere. Comparisons of microbial community structure of peanuts revealed that the relative abundance of Actinobacteria and Acidobacteria dramatically increased in the seedling and podding stages in drought-treated soil, while that of Cyanobacteria and Gemmatimonadetes increased in the flowering stage in drought-treated rhizospheres. Metagenomic profiling indicated that sequences related to metabolism, signaling transduction, defense mechanism and basic vital activity were enriched in the drought-treated rhizosphere, which may have implications for plant survival and drought tolerance. Conclusion: This microbial communities study will form the foundation for future improvement of drought tolerance of peanuts via modification of the soil microbes.


mBio ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jizhong Zhou ◽  
Wenzong Liu ◽  
Ye Deng ◽  
Yi-Huei Jiang ◽  
Kai Xue ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTThe processes and mechanisms of community assembly and its relationships to community functioning are central issues in ecology. Both deterministic and stochastic factors play important roles in shaping community composition and structure, but the connection between community assembly and ecosystem functioning remains elusive, especially in microbial communities. Here, we used microbial electrolysis cell reactors as a model system to examine the roles of stochastic assembly in determining microbial community structure and functions. Under identical environmental conditions with the same source community, ecological drift (i.e., initial stochastic colonization) and subsequent biotic interactions created dramatically different communities with little overlap among 14 identical reactors, indicating that stochastic assembly played dominant roles in determining microbial community structure. Neutral community modeling analysis revealed that deterministic factors also played significant roles in shaping microbial community structure in these reactors. Most importantly, the newly formed communities differed substantially in community functions (e.g., H2production), which showed strong linkages to community structure. This study is the first to demonstrate that stochastic assembly plays a dominant role in determining not only community structure but also ecosystem functions. Elucidating the links among community assembly, biodiversity, and ecosystem functioning is critical to understanding ecosystem functioning, biodiversity preservation, and ecosystem management.IMPORTANCEMicroorganisms are the most diverse group of life known on earth. Although it is well documented that microbial natural biodiversity is extremely high, it is not clear why such high diversity is generated and maintained. Numerous studies have established the roles of niche-based deterministic factors (e.g., pH, temperature, and salt) in shaping microbial biodiversity, the importance of stochastic processes in generating microbial biodiversity is rarely appreciated. Moreover, while microorganisms mediate many ecosystem processes, the relationship between microbial diversity and ecosystem functioning remains largely elusive. Using a well-controlled laboratory system, this study provides empirical support for the dominant role of stochastic assembly in creating variations of microbial diversity and the first explicit evidence for the critical role of community assembly in influencing ecosystem functioning. The results presented in this study represent important contributions to the understanding of the mechanisms, especially stochastic processes, involved in shaping microbial biodiversity.


2014 ◽  
Vol 1051 ◽  
pp. 311-316 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xi Mei Luo ◽  
Zhi Lei Gao ◽  
Hui Min Zhang ◽  
An Jun Li ◽  
Hong Kui He ◽  
...  

In recent years, despite the significant improvement of sequencing technologies such as the pyrosequencing, rapid evaluation of microbial community structures remains very difficult because of the abundance and complexity of organisms in almost all natural microbial communities. In this paper, a group of phylum-specific primers were elaborately designed based on a single nucleotide discrimination technology to quantify the main microbial community structure from GuJingGong pit mud samples using the real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR). Specific PCR (polymerase chain reaction) primers targeting a particular group would provide promising sensitivity and more in-depth assessment of microbial communities.


2020 ◽  
Vol 96 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kärt Kanger ◽  
Nigel G H Guilford ◽  
HyunWoo Lee ◽  
Camilla L Nesbø ◽  
Jaak Truu ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Solid organic waste is a significant source of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and effective treatment strategies are urgently required to limit the spread of antimicrobial resistance. Here, we studied ARG diversity and abundance as well as the relationship between antibiotic resistome and microbial community structure within a lab-scale solid-state anaerobic digester treating a mixture of food waste, paper and cardboard. A total of 10 samples from digester feed and digestion products were collected for microbial community analysis including small subunit rRNA gene sequencing, total community metagenome sequencing and high-throughput quantitative PCR. We observed a significant shift in microbial community composition and a reduction in ARG diversity and abundance after 6 weeks of digestion. ARGs were identified in all samples with multidrug resistance being the most abundant ARG type. Thirty-two per cent of ARGs detected in digester feed were located on plasmids indicating potential for horizontal gene transfer. Using metagenomic assembly and binning, we detected potential bacterial hosts of ARGs in digester feed, which included Erwinia, Bifidobacteriaceae, Lactococcus lactis and Lactobacillus. Our results indicate that the process of sequential solid-state anaerobic digestion of food waste, paper and cardboard tested herein provides a significant reduction in the relative abundance of ARGs per 16S rRNA gene.


1986 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 319-325 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas W. Federle ◽  
Robert J. Livingston ◽  
Loretta E. Wolfe ◽  
David C. White

Estuarine soft-bottom sediments in microcosms and the field were compared with regard to microbial community structure. Community structure was determined by analyzing the fatty acids derived from the microbial lipids in the sediments. Fatty acid profiles were compared using a multivariate statistical approach. Experiments were performed using sediments from St. George Sound and Apalachicola Bay, Florida. The community structure of St. George Sound sediments was apparently controlled by epibenthic predators. In Apalachicola Bay, the dominant influences were physical factors related to the flow of the Apalachicola River. In the St. George Sound experiment, microbial communities in the microcosms differed from those in the field after only 2 weeks, and the degree of this difference increased substantially as time progressed. In the Apalachicola Bay experiment, although microbial communities in the microcosms were detectably different from those in the field, the degree of this difference was not large nor did it increase with time. This differential behavior of sediment communities from different sites may be related to the different ecological factors regulating community composition at these sites.


2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (12) ◽  
pp. 3909-3925 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas Bock ◽  
France Van Wambeke ◽  
Moïra Dion ◽  
Solange Duhamel

Abstract. Oligotrophic regions play a central role in global biogeochemical cycles, with microbial communities in these areas representing an important term in global carbon budgets. While the general structure of microbial communities has been well documented in the global ocean, some remote regions such as the western tropical South Pacific (WTSP) remain fundamentally unexplored. Moreover, the biotic and abiotic factors constraining microbial abundances and distribution remain not well resolved. In this study, we quantified the spatial (vertical and horizontal) distribution of major microbial plankton groups along a transect through the WTSP during the austral summer of 2015, capturing important autotrophic and heterotrophic assemblages including cytometrically determined abundances of non-pigmented protists (also called flagellates). Using environmental parameters (e.g., nutrients and light availability) as well as statistical analyses, we estimated the role of bottom–up and top–down controls in constraining the structure of the WTSP microbial communities in biogeochemically distinct regions. At the most general level, we found a “typical tropical structure”, characterized by a shallow mixed layer, a clear deep chlorophyll maximum at all sampling sites, and a deep nitracline. Prochlorococcus was especially abundant along the transect, accounting for 68 ± 10.6 % of depth-integrated phytoplankton biomass. Despite their relatively low abundances, picophytoeukaryotes (PPE) accounted for up to 26 ± 11.6 % of depth-integrated phytoplankton biomass, while Synechococcus accounted for only 6 ± 6.9 %. Our results show that the microbial community structure of the WTSP is typical of highly stratified regions, and underline the significant contribution to total biomass by PPE populations. Strong relationships between N2 fixation rates and plankton abundances demonstrate the central role of N2 fixation in regulating ecosystem processes in the WTSP, while comparative analyses of abundance data suggest microbial community structure to be increasingly regulated by bottom–up processes under nutrient limitation, possibly in response to shifts in abundances of high nucleic acid bacteria (HNA).


2012 ◽  
Vol 58 (9) ◽  
pp. 1135-1151 ◽  
Author(s):  
P.G. Medihala ◽  
J.R. Lawrence ◽  
G.D.W. Swerhone ◽  
D.R. Korber

Relatively little is known regarding the spatial variability of microbial communities in aquifers where well fouling is an issue. In this study 2 water wells were installed in an alluvial aquifer located adjacent to the North Saskatchewan River and an associated piezometer network developed to facilitate the study of microbial community structure, richness, and diversity. Carbon utilization data analysis revealed reduced microbial activity in waters collected close to the wells. Functional PCR and quantitative PCR analysis indicated spatial variability in the potential for iron-, sulphate-, and nitrate-reducing activity at all locations in the aquifer. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis analysis of aquifer water samples using principal components analyses indicated that the microbial community composition was spatially variable, and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis sequence analysis revealed that bacteria belonging to the genera Acidovorax , Rhodobacter , and Sulfuricurvum were common throughout the aquifer. Shannon’s richness (H′) and Pielou’s evenness (J′) indices revealed a varied microbial diversity (H′ = 1.488–2.274) and an even distribution of microbial communities within the aquifer (J′ = 0.811–0.917). Overall, these analyses revealed that the aquifer’s microbial community varied spatially in terms of composition, richness, and metabolic activity. Such information may facilitate the diagnosis, prevention, and management of fouling.


2001 ◽  
Vol 67 (10) ◽  
pp. 4619-4629 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wilfred F. M. Röling ◽  
Boris M. van Breukelen ◽  
Martin Braster ◽  
Bin Lin ◽  
Henk W. van Verseveld

ABSTRACT Knowledge about the relationship between microbial community structure and hydrogeochemistry (e.g., pollution, redox and degradation processes) in landfill leachate-polluted aquifers is required to develop tools for predicting and monitoring natural attenuation. In this study analyses of pollutant and redox chemistry were conducted in parallel with culture-independent profiling of microbial communities present in a well-defined aquifer (Banisveld, The Netherlands). Degradation of organic contaminants occurred under iron-reducing conditions in the plume of pollution, while upstream of the landfill and above the plume denitrification was the dominant redox process. Beneath the plume iron reduction occurred. Numerical comparison of 16S ribosomal DNA (rDNA)-based denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) profiles of Bacteria andArchaea in 29 groundwater samples revealed a clear difference between the microbial community structures inside and outside the contaminant plume. A similar relationship was not evident in sediment samples. DGGE data were supported by sequencing cloned 16S rDNA. Upstream of the landfill members of the β subclass of the class Proteobacteria(β-proteobacteria) dominated. This group was not encountered beneath the landfill, where gram-positive bacteria dominated. Further downstream the contribution of gram-positive bacteria to the clone library decreased, while the contribution of δ-proteobacteria strongly increased and β-proteobacteria reappeared. The β-proteobacteria (Acidovorax,Rhodoferax) differed considerably from those found upstream (Gallionella, Azoarcus). Direct comparisons of cloned 16S rDNA with bands in DGGE profiles revealed that the data from each analysis were comparable. A relationship was observed between the dominant redox processes and the bacteria identified. In the iron-reducing plume members of the familyGeobacteraceae made a strong contribution to the microbial communities. Because the only known aromatic hydrocarbon-degrading, iron-reducing bacteria areGeobacter spp., their occurrence in landfill leachate-contaminated aquifers deserves more detailed consideration.


Author(s):  
Lanying Ma ◽  
Fernando Igne Rocha ◽  
Jaejin Lee ◽  
Jinlyung Choi ◽  
Mauricio Tejera ◽  
...  

Yield of the perennial grass Miscanthus × giganteus has shown an inconsistent and unpredictable response to nitrogen (N) fertilizer, yet fertilization underpins the crop’s environmental and economic sustainability. The interactions among soil microbial communities, N availability, and M. × giganteus and management may explain changes in plant productivity. In this study, soil samples from different stand ages of M. × giganteus in a replicated chronosequence field trial were used to investigate the effects of stand age and N fertilizer rates on microbial community structure. We hypothesized that there is a definable M. × giganteus soil microbiome and that this community varies significantly with stand age and fertilization. Our results showed that the main phyla in soil microbial communities, regardless of plant age, are similar but microbial community structures are significantly different. The variation in observed microbial communities generally decreases in older stand ages. The amount of N fertilizer applied also affected the microbial community structure associated with different aged M. × giganteus. Specifically, the relative abundance of Proteobacteria (Alphaproteobacteria and Gammaproteobacteria) and Acidobacteria (Subgroup Gp1) increased shortly after fertilization and were more associated with younger M. × giganteus. Further, our results show a significant relationship between bacterial alpha diversity and fertilization rates and that this response is also impacted by stand age. Overall, our results emphasize linkages between microbial community structure, plant age, and fertilization in M. × giganteus.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruth Schmidt ◽  
Xiao-Bo Wang ◽  
Paolina Garbeva ◽  
Étienne Yergeau

AbstractNitrapyrin is one of the most common nitrification inhibitors that are used to retain N in the ammonia form in soil to improve crop yields and quality. Whereas the inhibitory effect of nitrapyrin is supposedly specific to ammonia oxidizers, in view of the keystone role of this group in soils, nitrapyrin could have far-reaching impacts. Here, we tested the hypothesis that nitrapyrin leads to large shifts in soil microbial community structure, composition, diversity and functions, beyond its effect on ammonia-oxidizers. To test this hypothesis, we set-up a field experiment where wheat (Triticum aestivum cv. AC Walton) was fertilized with ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) and supplemented or not with nitrapyrin. Rhizosphere and bulk soils were sampled twice, DNA was extracted, the 16S rRNA gene and ITS region were amplified and sequenced to follow shifts in archaeal, bacterial and fungal community structure, composition and diversity. To assess microbial functions, several genes involved in the nitrogen cycle were quantified by real-time qPCR and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were trapped in the rhizosphere at the moment of sampling. As expected, sampling date and plant compartment had overwhelming effects on the microbial communities. However, within these strong effects, we found statistically significant effects of nitrapyrin on the relative abundance of Thaumarchaeota, Proteobacteria, Nitrospirae and Basidiomycota, and on several genera. Nitrapyrin also significantly affected bacterial and fungal community structure, and the abundance of all the N-cycle gene tested, but always in interaction with sampling date. In contrast, nitrapyrin had no significant effect on the emission of VOCs, where only sampling date significantly influenced the profiles observed. Our results point out far-reaching effects of nitrapyrin on soil and plant associated microbial communities, well beyond its predicted direct effect on ammonia-oxidizers. In the longer term, these shifts might counteract the positive effect of nitrapyrin on crop nutrition and greenhouse gas emissions.


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