Abstract
Purpose: Rhizosheath is an adaptive feature for the survival of Stipagrostis pennata in desert systems. Although microorganisms play important ecological roles in promoting the nitrogen cycle of rhizosheath, the diversity and function of nitrogen-fixing microorganism communities have not been fully understood.Materials and methods: Therefore, the aim of the present study is to explore the nitrogen fixation ability of rhizosheaths and the changes in abundance of nitrogen-fixing microorganisms at different growth periods of S. pennata. We sequenced the nifH gene through sequencing to identify the structure and diversity of nitrogen-fixing microorganisms of S. pennata at different growth periods of rhizosheaths.Results: A total of 1256 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were identified by nifH sequence and distributed in different growth periods. There were five OTUs distributed in each sample at the same time, and the abundance and diversity of microorganisms in fruit period were much higher than those in other periods. Mainly four phyla were involved, among which Proteobacteria was the most abundant in all groups.Conclusions: In general, the present study investigated the abundance and characteristics of nitrogen-fixing microorganisms of rhizosheaths in different growth periods of S. pennata. It also may elucidate and indicate that the structure of nitrogen-fixing microorganisms of rhizosheaths in different growth periods of S. pennata had changed.
Highlights
Desert is one of the harshest terrestrial ecosystems on earth, characterized by high solar radiation level, low rainfall and extremely high temperature
Desert ecosystems are generally considered to be inanimate habitats under extreme environmental conditions, despite the fact that they are colonized by a few microorganisms [4]
We identified the sequence of nifH in rhizosheath at different growth periods of S. pennata by nifH sequencing
Summary
Desert is one of the harshest terrestrial ecosystems on earth, characterized by high solar radiation level, low rainfall and extremely high temperature. The character of desert soil is low water retention, low nutrition level and high salinity [1]. Desert ecosystems cover most of the earth’s land surface and are characterized by extremely low productivity and limited availability of water and nitrogen (N) as always [2]. Desert ecosystems may change due to global climate change and nitrogen (N) deposition. The effects of precipitation and increased nitrogen deposition on plant growth and nitrogen cycle largely depend on nitrogen distribution and nitrogen recovery efficiency in plant–soil ecosystems, but the researches on desert ecosystems are limited [5]
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