Abstract
The seasonal dynamics of microbial diversity within the rhizosphere of Ulmus pumila L. var. sabulosa in the hinterland of the Otindag Sandy Land of China were investigated using high-throughput sequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA genes and fungal ITS region sequences. A significant level of bacterial and fungal diversity was observed overall, with detection of 7,676 bacterial Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) belonging to 40 bacteria phyla and 3,582 fungal OTUs belonging to six phyla. Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Firmicutes were the dominant bacterial phyla among communities, while Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, and Zygomycota were the dominant phyla of fungal communities. Seasonal changes influenced the α-diversity and β-diversity of bacterial communities within elm rhizospheres more than for fungal communities. Inferred functional analysis of the bacterial communities identified evidence for 41 level two KEGG (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes) orthology groups, while guild-based analysis of the fungal communities identified eight ecological guilds. Metabolism was the most prevalent bacterial functional group, while saprotrophs prevailed among the identified fungal ecological guilds. Soil moisture and soil nutrient content were important factors that affected the microbial community structures of elm rhizospheres across seasons. The present pilot study provides an important baseline investigation of elm rhizosphere microbial communities.
Highlights
The Otindag Sandy Land (OSL) region is located in the southern Xilin Gol Grassland of central Inner Mongolia
High throughput sequencing of phylogenetic marker genes for bacterial and fungal communities revealed the influence of seasonal variation on the microbial communities associated with Ulmus pumila L. var. sabulosa rhizospheres
Our results indicate that seasonal changes affected the diversity of elm rhizosphere bacterial and fungal communities
Summary
The Otindag Sandy Land (OSL) region is located in the southern Xilin Gol Grassland of central Inner Mongolia. The region is characterized as a typical semiarid area of northern China (Su et al, 2009; Mason et al, 2009; Gong et al, 2013). Sabulosa in a steppe desert area of Northern China. Land desertification in the OSL has become a global problem that requires urgent mitigation. Vegetation plays an important role in the ecosystem of sandy lands, and this is especially true for the dominant vegetation species in these areas. Specific keystone species control the functions and structures of both communities and their sandy land environments. The degradation or loss of dominant species is the main cause of sandy land ecosystem degradation and the expansion of desertification. Protecting the vegetation of sandy lands is an important ecological solution to control desertification of sandy lands
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