Community Structure Of Archaea Research Articles

Distribution characteristics of ammonia oxidizing microorganisms in rhizosphere sediments of cattail

The abundance, diversity and community structure of ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) and ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) were investigated, using amoA gene as a molecular biomarker, to examine how cattail (Typha orientalis) growth affects the abundances and communities of AOB and AOA in the rhizosphere sediment. Clone libraries and qPCR (quantitative polymerase chain reaction) results indicated the amoA gene copies numbers, relative abundance of AOA and AOB amoA gene clone libraries were highest in rhizosphere sediment, followed by non-rhizosphere sediment and control, indicating that cattail growth has a remarkable effect on the abundance and community structure of ammonia oxidizing microorganisms. Diversity index (Chao1 and Shannon H) have an obvious variation in cattail rhizosphere, non-rhizosphere and control sediments. The average values of Shannon H of AOA and AOB in the rhizosphere sediment were higher than the non-rhizosphere sediment and control. The average value of Chao1 was highest in non-rhizosphere sediment for AOA, whereas, was highest in the rhizosphere sediment for AOB. The abundance, diversity and community structure of AOA and AOB were obvious different in the cattail's three developmental stages, and higher abundances and more complex community structure were obtained in the maturity stage, which may be attributable to the higher root exudation owing to fast growth rates and strong metabolisms in the maturity stage. In addition, despite higher abundant of AOA versus AOB was demonstrated in the cattail rhizosphere, non-rhizosphere sediment and control, bacteria, not archaeal, have more ecosystem functions and play a more important role in dominating ammonia oxidation under the conditions of this study according to the two findings from the present study. One is that AOB had a more diverse and more complex community structure than AOA; the other is that the average value of potential nitrification rates (PNRs) significantly decreased (by 49.08%, 53.69% and 10.39%, respectively) in rhizosphere, non-rhizosphere sediment and control, as compared to PNRs without the ampicillin, when ammonia-oxidizing bacteria were inhibited by ampicillin.

Effect of chemical fertilization and green manure on the abundance and community structure of ammonia oxidizers in a paddy soil

Ammonia oxidization is a critical step in the soil N cycle and can be affected by the fertilization regimes. Chinese milk-vetch (Astragalus sinicus L., MV) is a major green manure of rice (Oryza sativa L.) fields in southern China, which is recommended as an important agronomic practice to improve soil fertility. Soil chemical properties, abundance and community structures of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) in a MV-rice rotation field under different fertilization regimes were investigated. The field experiment included six treatments: control, without MV and chemical fertilizer (CK); 100% chemical fertilizer (NPK); 18 000 kg MV ha-1 plus 100% chemical fertilizer (NPKM1); 18 000 kg MV ha-1 plus 40% chemical fertilizer (NPKM2); 18 000 kg MV ha-1 alone (MV); and 18 000 kg MV ha-1 plus 40% chemical fertilizer plus straw (NPKMS). Results showed that NPKMS treatment could improve the soil fertility greatly although the application of 60% chemical fertilizer. The abundance of AOB only in the MV treatment had significant difference with the control; AOA were more abundant than AOB in all corresponding treatments. The NPKMS treatment had the highest AOA abundance (1.19 x 108 amoA gene copies g-1) and the lowest abundance was recorded in the CK treatment (3.21 x 107 amoA gene copies g-1). The abundance of AOA was significantly positively related to total N, available N, NH4+-N, and NO3--N. The community structure of AOA exhibited little variation among different fertilization regimes, whereas the community structure of AOB was highly responsive. Phylogenetic analysis showed that all AOB sequences were affiliated with Nitrosospira or Nitrosomonas and all AOA denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) bands belonged to the soil and sediment lineage. These findings could be fundamental to improve our understanding of AOB and AOA in the N cycle in the paddy soil.

Effects of bioaugmentation in para-nitrophenol-contaminated soil on the abundance and community structure of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria and archaea.

Pseudomonas sp. strain WBC-3 mineralizes the priority pollutant para-nitrophenol (PNP) and releases nitrite (NO2 (-)), which is probably involved in the nitrification. In this study, the rate of PNP removal in soil bioaugmented with strain WBC-3 was more accelerated with more NO2 (-) accumulation than in uninoculated soils. Strain WBC-3 survived well and remained stable throughout the entire period. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (real-time PCR) indicated a higher abundance of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) than ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA), suggesting that AOB played a greater role in nitrification in the original sampled soil. Real-time PCR and multivariate analysis based on the denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis showed that PNP contamination did not significantly alter the abundance and community structure of ammonia oxidizers except for inhibiting the AOB abundance. Bioaugmentation of PNP-contaminated soil showed a significant effect on AOB populations and community structure as well as AOA populations. In addition, ammonium (NH4 (+)) variation was found to be the primary factor affecting the AOB community structure, as determined by the correlation between the community structures of ammonia oxidizers and environmental factors. It is here proposed that the balance between archaeal and bacterial ammonia oxidation could be influenced significantly by the variation in NH4 (+) levels as caused by bioaugmentation of contaminated soil by a pollutant containing nitrogen.

Impact of elevated CO₂ and N addition on bacteria, fungi, and archaea in a marsh ecosystem with various types of plants.

The individual effects of either elevated CO2 or N deposition on soil microbial communities have been widely studied, but limited information is available regarding the responses of the bacteria, fungi, and archaea communities to both elevated CO2 and N in wetland ecosystems with different types of plants. Using a terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) analysis and real-time quantitative PCR (RT-Q-PCR), we compared communities of bacteria, fungi, and archaea in a marsh microcosm with one of seven macrophytes, Typha latifolia, Phragmites japonica, Miscanthus sacchariflorus, Scirpus lacustris, Juncus effusus, Phragmites australis, or Zizania latifolia, after exposing them to eCO2 and/or amended N for 110 days. Overall, our results showed that the elevated CO2 and N may affect the bacterial and archaeal communities, while they may not affect the fungal community in terms of both diversity and abundance. The effects of elevated CO2 and N on microbial community vary depending on the plant types, and each microbial community shows different responses to the elevated CO2 and N. In particular, elevated CO2 might force a shift in the archaeal community irrespective of the plant type, and the effect of elevated CO2 was enhanced when combined with the N effect. This study indicates that elevated CO2 and N addition could lead to changes in the community structures of bacteria and archaea. Our results also suggest that the fungal group is less sensitive to external changes, while the bacterial and archaeal groups are more sensitive to them. Finally, the characteristics of the plant type and relevant physicochemical factors induced by the elevated CO2 and N may be important key factors structuring the microbial community's response to environmental change, which implies the need for a more comprehensive approach to understanding the pattern of the wetland response to climate change.

Relationship between honeybee nutrition and their microbial communities.

The microbiota and the functional genes actively involved in the process of breakdown and utilization of pollen grains in beebread and bee guts are not yet understood. The aim of this work was to assess the diversity and community structure of bacteria and archaea in Africanized honeybee guts and beebread as well as to predict the genes involved in the microbial bioprocessing of pollen using state of the art 'post-light' based sequencing technology. A total of 11 bacterial phyla were found within bee guts and 10 bacterial phyla were found within beebread. Although the phylum level comparison shows most phyla in common, a deeper phylogenetic analysis showed greater variation of taxonomic composition. The families Enterobacteriaceae, Ricketsiaceae, Spiroplasmataceae and Bacillaceae, were the main groups responsible for the specificity of the bee gut while the main families responsible for the specificity of the beebread were Neisseriaceae, Flavobacteriaceae, Acetobacteraceae and Lactobacillaceae. In terms of microbial community structure, the analysis showed that the communities from the two environments were quite different from each other with only 7% of species-level taxa shared between bee gut and beebread. The results indicated the presence of a highly specialized and well-adapted microbiota within each bee gut and beebread. The beebread community included a greater relative abundance of genes related to amino acid, carbohydrate, and lipid metabolism, suggesting that pollen biodegradation predominantly occurs in the beebread. These results suggests a complex and important relationship between honeybee nutrition and their microbial communities.

Community structure of ammonia-oxidizing archaea and ammonia-oxidizing bacteria in soil treated with the insecticide imidacloprid.

The purpose of this experiment was to assess the effect of imidacloprid on the community structure of ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) and ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) in soil using the denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) approach. Analysis showed that AOA and AOB community members were affected by the insecticide treatment. However, the calculation of the richness (S) and the Shannon-Wiener index (H) values for soil treated with the field rate (FR) dosage of imidacloprid (1 mg/kg soil) showed no changes in measured indices for the AOA and AOB community members. In turn, the 10∗FR dosage of insecticide (10 mg/kg soil) negatively affected the AOA community, which was confirmed by the decrease of the S and H values in comparison with the values obtained for the control soil. In the case of AOB community, an initial decline followed by the increase of the S and H values was obtained. Imidacloprid decreased the nitrification rate while the ammonification process was stimulated by the addition of imidacloprid. Changes in the community structure of AOA and AOB could be due to an increase in the concentration of N-NH4 +, known as the most important factor which determines the contribution of these microorganisms to soil nitrification.

Environmental factors shaping the community structure of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria and archaea in sugarcane field soil.

The effects of environmental factors such as pH and nutrient content on the ecology of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and archaea (AOA) in soil has been extensively studied using experimental fields. However, how these environmental factors intricately influence the community structure of AOB and AOA in soil from farmers’ fields is unclear. In the present study, the abundance and diversity of AOB and AOA in soils collected from farmers’ sugarcane fields were investigated using quantitative PCR and barcoded pyrosequencing targeting the ammonia monooxygenase alpha subunit (amoA) gene. The abundances of AOB and AOA amoA genes were estimated to be in the range of 1.8 × 105–9.2 × 106 and 1.7 × 106–5.3 × 107 gene copies g dry soil−1, respectively. The abundance of both AOB and AOA positively correlated with the potential nitrification rate. The dominant sequence reads of AOB and AOA were placed in Nitrosospira-related and Nitrososphaera-related clusters in all soils, respectively, which varied at the level of their sub-clusters in each soil. The relationship between these ammonia-oxidizing community structures and soil pH was shown to be significant by the Mantel test. The relative abundances of the OTU1 of Nitrosospira cluster 3 and Nitrososphaera subcluster 7.1 negatively correlated with soil pH. These results indicated that soil pH was the most important factor shaping the AOB and AOA community structures, and that certain subclusters of AOB and AOA adapted to and dominated the acidic soil of agricultural sugarcane fields.

Biogeography and ecology of the rare and abundant microbial lineages in deep-sea hydrothermal vents.

Environmental gradients generate countless ecological niches in deep-sea hydrothermal vent systems, which foster diverse microbial communities. The majority of distinct microbial lineages in these communities occur in very low abundance. However, the ecological role and distribution of rare and abundant lineages, particularly in deep, hot subsurface environments, remain unclear. Here, we use 16S rRNA tag sequencing to describe biogeographic patterning and microbial community structure of both rare and abundant archaea and bacteria in hydrothermal vent systems. We show that while rare archaeal lineages and almost all bacterial lineages displayed geographically restricted community structuring patterns, the abundant lineages of archaeal communities displayed a much more cosmopolitan distribution. Finally, analysis of one high-volume, high-temperature fluid sample representative of the deep hot biosphere described a unique microbial community that differed from microbial populations in diffuse flow fluid or sulfide samples, yet the rare thermophilic archaeal groups showed similarities to those that occur in sulfides. These results suggest that while most archaeal and bacterial lineages in vents are rare and display a highly regional distribution, a small percentage of lineages, particularly within the archaeal domain, are successful at widespread dispersal and colonization.

Effects of a ciliate protozoa predator on microbial communities in pitcher plant (Sarracenia purpurea) leaves.

The aquatic communities found within the water filled leaves of the pitcher plant, Sarracenia purpurea, have a simple trophic structure providing an ideal system to study microscale interactions between protozoan predators and their bacterial prey. In this study, replicate communities were maintained with and without the presence of the bactivorous protozoan, Colpoda steinii, to determine the effects of grazing on microbial communities. Changes in microbial (Archaea and Bacteria) community structure were assessed using iTag sequencing of 16S rRNA genes. The microbial communities were similar with and without the protozoan predator, with>1000 species. Of these species, Archaea were negligible, with Bacteria comprising 99.99% of the microbial community. The Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes were the most dominant phyla. The addition of a protozoan predator did not have a significant effect on microbial evenness nor richness. However, the presence of the protozoan did cause a significant shift in the relative abundances of a number of bacterial species. This suggested that bactivorous protozoan may target specific bacterial species and/or that certain bacterial species have innate mechanisms by which they evade predators. These findings help to elucidate the effect that trophic structure perturbations have on predator prey interactions in microbial systems.

Altitudinal Distribution of Ammonia-Oxidizing Archaea and Bacteria in Alpine Grassland Soils Along the South-Facing Slope of Nyqentangula Mountains, Central Tibetan Plateau

Nitrogen is a major limiting nutrient for the net primary production of terrestrial ecosystems, especially on sentinel alpine ecosystem. Ammonia oxidation is the first and rate-limiting step on nitrification process and is thus crucial to nitrogen cycle. To decipher climatic influence on ammonia oxidizers, their communities were characterized by qPCR and clone sequencing by targeting amoA genes (encoding the alpha subunit of ammonia mono-oxygenase) in soils from 7 sites over an 800 m elevation transect (4400–5200 m a.s.l.), based on “space-to-time substitution” strategy, on a steppe-meadow ecosystem located on the central Tibetan Plateau (TP). Archaeal amoA abundance outnumbered bacterial amoA abundance at lower altitude (<4800 m a.s.l.), but bacterial amoA abundance was greater in surface soils at higher altitude (≥4800 m a.s.l.). Archaeal amoA abundance decreased with altitude in surface soil, while its abundance stayed relatively stable and was mostly greater than bacterial amoA abundance in subsurface soils. Conversely, bacterial amoA abundance gradually increased with altitude at all three soil depths. Statistical analysis indicated that altitude-dependent factors, in particular pH and precipitation, had a profound effect on the abundance and community of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria, but only on the community composition of ammonia-oxidizing archaea along the altitudinal gradient. These findings imply that the shifts in the relative abundance and/or community structure of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria and archaea may result from the precipitation variation along the altitudinal gradient. Thus, we speculate that altitude-related factors (mainly precipitation variation combing changed pH), would play a vital role in affecting nitrification process on this alpine grassland ecosystem located at semi-arid area on TP.

Community structure and distribution of planktonic ammonia-oxidizing archaea and bacteria in the Dongjiang River, China

Ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) and bacteria (AOB) are widely distributed in the natural environment and play crucial roles in the nitrification process and the removal of nitrogen (N). Although planktonic microbial community plays an important role in river biogeochemical cycles, few studies have attempted to address the characteristics of AOA and AOB in the water column of river ecosystems. This study examined the community structures, distributions and abundance of planktonic AOA and AOB in the Dongjiang River and their responses to the changes in environmental parameters through quantitative polymerase chain reaction, cloning, and sequencing of ammonia mono-oxygenase (amoA). The abundance ratio of AOB to AOA varied from 0.07 to 9.4 along the river and was positively correlated with the concentration of ammonium. Significantly positive correlations were observed between the abundance of AOB and potential nitrification rates, which suggested that the contribution of AOB to nitrification was greater than that of AOA in the river. Phylogenetic analyses showed that AOA communities could be divided into three branches of Thaumarchaeota: Group 1.1a, Group 1.1a associated and Group 1.1b, with most sequences belonging to Group 1.1a. All AOB sequences fell within Nitrosomonas and Nitrosospira species, and the majority of sequences were affiliated with the latter. Multivariate statistical analyses indicated that the community distributions of AOA and AOB were significantly correlated with the concentrations of nitrate and total suspended solids, respectively. These findings fundamentally improved our understanding of the role of planktonic AOA and AOB in nitrogen cycling and their responses to changes in environmental factors in the river ecosystem.

Community structure of ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms in the Grand Canal, Zhenjiang, of Jiangsu Province, China.

In this study, we simultaneously investigated the community structure and abundance of ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) and ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) in the Grand Canal (the Zhenjiang section). Both clone library and qPCR (quantitative polymerase chain reaction) indicated that the abundance and diversity of AOB were higher than AOA in the Grand Canal for all four seasons. Among the 109 archaeal amoA sequences retrieved, 62.39 and 37.61% fell within the Nitrosopumilus and Nitrososphaera clusters, respectively. The 128 bacterial amoA gene sequences obtained in this study were grouped with known AOB sequences in the Nitrosomonas and Nitrosospira genera, which occupied 81.25 and 18.75% of the AOB group, respectively. The AOA abundance was significantly and positively correlated with the NH4-N. The AOB abundance did not show significant correlations with the measured parameters. Obvious differences were observed for the AOA community compositions obtained from different seasons. The community structure of AOB changed slightly. It indicated that AOB seemed to play a more important role for the nitrification process than AOA in this environment, and was more adapted to this environment.

Molecular characterization of anaerobic sulfur-oxidizing microbial communities in up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor treating municipal sewage

A novel wastewater treatment system consisting of an up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor and a down-flow hanging sponge (DHS) reactor with sulfur-redox reaction was developed for treatment of municipal sewage under low-temperature conditions. In the UASB reactor, a novel phenomenon of anaerobic sulfur oxidation occurred in the absence of oxygen, nitrite and nitrate as electron acceptors. The microorganisms involved in anaerobic sulfur oxidation have not been elucidated. Therefore, in this study, we studied the microbial communities existing in the UASB reactor that probably enhanced anaerobic sulfur oxidation. Sludge samples collected from the UASB reactor before and after sulfur oxidation were used for cloning and terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) analysis of the 16S rRNA genes of the bacterial and archaeal domains. The microbial community structures of bacteria and archaea indicated that the genus Smithella and uncultured bacteria within the phylum Caldiserica were the dominant bacteria groups. Methanosaeta spp. was the dominant group of the domain archaea. The T-RFLP analysis, which was consistent with the cloning results, also yielded characteristic fingerprints for bacterial communities, whereas the archaeal community structure yielded stable microbial community. From these results, it can be presumed that these major bacteria groups, genus Smithella and uncultured bacteria within the phylum Caldiserica, probably play an important role in sulfur oxidation in UASB reactors.

Salinity-dominated change in community structure and ecological function of Archaea from the lower Pearl River to coastal South China Sea.

Archaea have multiple roles in global biogeochemical cycles. However, we still have limited knowledge about how environmental factors affect the diversity and function of different archaeal lineages. The goal of this study was to examine the change in the abundance and community structure of Archaea in the sediments collected from the lower Pearl River (mainly North River tributary), its estuary, and coastal South China Sea (SCS) in order to evaluate how archaeal ecological function might change along the salinity gradient. Pyrosequencing of the 16S rDNA gene of Archaea was performed on sediment samples from Feilaixia Dam on the North River tributary to Wanshan islands, which have a salinity range of 0.1 to 31.2‰. Consistent with the salt tolerance of cultivated representatives, methanogens in the genera Methanoregula, Methanosaeta, and Methanosarcina and Nitrososphaera within Thaumarchaeota of the ammonia-oxidizing Archaea (AOA) were abundant in freshwater sediments of the North River tributary, whereas the marine-associated genera Methanococcoides and Nitrosopumilus were the most abundant methanogens and AOA, respectively, in the estuary and coastal SCS. However, the percentages of total methanogens decreased and Thaumarchaeota increased with salinity, respectively. The phylum Crenarchaeota was largely represented by class-level lineages with no cultivated representatives, which collectively were more abundant in the estuary and coastal SCS in comparison to freshwater sites. This study indicates that salinity is the dominating factor affecting archaeal community structure and ecological function from the North River tributary of the Pearl River, its estuary, and coastal SCS, which is consistent with salinity control on microbial diversity in other regions of the world.

Impacts of Edaphic Factors on Communities of Ammonia-Oxidizing Archaea, Ammonia-Oxidizing Bacteria and Nitrification in Tropical Soils

Nitrification is a key process in soil nitrogen (N) dynamics, but relatively little is known about it in tropical soils. In this study, we examined soils from Trinidad to determine the edaphic drivers affecting nitrification levels and community structure of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) in non-managed soils. The soils were naturally vegetated, ranged in texture from sands to clays and spanned pH 4 to 8. The AOA were detected by qPCR in all soils (ca. 105 to 106 copies archaeal amoA g−1 soil), but AOB levels were low and bacterial amoA was infrequently detected. AOA abundance showed a significant negative correlation (p<0.001) with levels of soil organic carbon, clay and ammonium, but was not correlated to pH. Structures of AOA and AOB communities, as determined by amoA terminal restriction fragment (TRF) analysis, differed significantly between soils (p<0.001). Variation in AOA TRF profiles was best explained by ammonium-N and either Kjeldahl N or total N (p<0.001) while variation in AOB TRF profiles was best explained by phosphorus, bulk density and iron (p<0.01). In clone libraries, phylotypes of archaeal amoA (predominantly Nitrososphaera) and bacterial amoA (predominanatly Nitrosospira) differed between soils, but variation was not correlated with pH. Nitrification potential was positively correlated with clay content and pH (p<0.001), but not to AOA or AOB abundance or community structure. Collectively, the study showed that AOA and AOB communities were affected by differing sets of edaphic factors, notably that soil N characteristics were significant for AOA, but not AOB, and that pH was not a major driver for either community. Thus, the effect of pH on nitrification appeared to mainly reflect impacts on AOA or AOB activity, rather than selection for AOA or AOB phylotypes differing in nitrifying capacity.

Dynamics of communities of bacteria and ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms in response to simazine attenuation in agricultural soil

Autochthonous microbiota plays a crucial role in natural attenuation of s-triazine herbicides in agricultural soil. Soil microcosm study was carried out to investigate the shift in the structures of soil autochthonous microbial communities and the potential degraders associated with natural simazine attenuation. The relative abundance of soil autochthonous degraders and the structures of microbial communities were assessed using quantitative PCR (q-PCR) and terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (TRFLP), respectively. Phylogenetic composition of bacterial community was also characterized using clone library analysis. Soil autochthonous microbiota could almost completely clean up simazine (100mgkg−1) in 10days after herbicide application, indicating a strong self-remediation potential of agricultural soil. A significant increase in the proportion of s-triazine-degrading atzC gene was found in 6days after simazine amendment. Simazine application could alter the community structures of total bacteria and ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) and bacteria (AOB). AOA were more responsive to simazine application compared to AOB and bacteria. Actinobacteria, Alphaproteobacteria and Gammaproteobacteria were the dominant bacterial groups either at the initial stage after simazine amendment or at the end stage of herbicide biodegradation, but Actinobacteria predominated at the middle stage of biodegradation. Microorganisms from several bacterial genera might be involved in simazine biodegradation. This work could add some new insights on the bioremediation of herbicides contaminated agricultural soils.

Abundance and community structure of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria and archaea in purple soil under long-term fertilization

Ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms, which drive the first and rate-limiting step in the process of nitrification, play an important role in soil N-cycling processes. However, little is known about the ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and archaea (AOA) in purple soils, which are characterized as lithologic soils without distinct pedogenic horizons and are mainly distributed in the Sichuan basin of Southwestern China. Here, the abundance and community structure of AOB and AOA in a 21-year fertilization experiment were investigated by real-time PCR and terminal restriction fragment-length polymorphism (T-RFLP), respectively. In the present study, nine different fertilization treatments were examined: NPK fertilization plus pig manure (NPK + M), NPK fertilization (NPK), without fertilization (CK), pig manure fertilization (M), P with NH4Cl and KCl plus pig manure (Cl + M), PK fertilization (PK), NK fertilization (NK), NP fertilization (NP), and N fertilization (N). Our results indicate that N-fertilized treatments have higher AOB abundances than the control (CK) and treatments without N amendment. The lowest AOA abundance and AOA/AOB ratios were observed in the treatment (Cl + M) with long-term application of NH4Cl plus KCl. The AOB community structure under combined addition of N and P differed from that under other treatments. The Cl + M treatment had a distinct AOA community structure and higher diversity compared with other treatments. Moreover, higher potential nitrification rates (PNR) were found in the combined N and P addition treatment groups than that in the other treatment groups, and the lowest PNR and pH (<6) were detected in the Cl + M treatment. These results highlight that not only nitrogen but also phosphorus may be a crucial factor affecting soil ammonia-oxidizing activity and triggering changes of AOB community composition. Moreover, soil pH might have an essential role in controlling the AOA community structure and ammonia-oxidizing activity in purple soil.

Simazine biodegradation and community structures of ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms in bioaugmented soil: impact of ammonia and nitrate nitrogen sources

The objective of the present study was to investigate the impact of ammonia and nitrate nitrogen sources on simazine biodegradation by Arthrobacter sp. strain SD1 and the community structures of ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) and bacteria (AOB) in non-agricultural soil. Soil microcosms with different treatments were constructed for herbicide biodegradation test. The relative abundance of the strain SD1 and the structures of AOA and AOB communities were assessed using quantitative PCR (q-PCR) and terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (TRFLP), respectively. The co-existence of two inorganic nitrogen sources (ammonia and nitrate) had certain impact on simazine dissipation by the strain SD1. Bioaugmentation could induce a shift in the community structures of both AOA and AOB, but AOA were more responsive. Nitrogen application had significant impacts on AOA and AOB communities in bioaugmented soils. Moreover, in non-bioaugmented soil, the community structure of AOA, instead of AOB, could be quickly recovered after herbicide application. This study could add some new insights towards the impacts of nitrogen sources on s-triazine bioremediation and ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms in soil ecosystem.

Differential responses of ammonia/ammonium-oxidizing microorganisms in mangrove sediment to amendment of acetate and leaf litter

The effects of acetate and leaf litter powder on ammonia/ammonium-oxidizing microorganisms (AOMs) in mangrove sediment were investigated in a laboratory incubation study for a period of 60 days. The results showed that different AOMs responded differently to the addition of acetate and leaf litter. A higher diversity of anaerobic ammonium-oxidizing (anammox) bacteria was observed when acetate or leaf litter was added than the control. However, acetate and leaf litter generally inhibited the growth of anammox bacteria despite that leaf litter promoted their growth in the first 5 days. The inhibitory effects on anammox bacteria were more pronounced by acetate than by leaf litter. Neither acetate nor leaf litter affected ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) community structures, but promoted their growth. For ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB), the addition of acetate or leaf litter resulted in changes of community structures and promoted their growth in the early phase of the incubation. In addition, the promoting effects by leaf litter on AOB growth were more obvious than acetate. These results indicated that organic substances affect AOM community structures and abundances. The study suggests that leaf litter has an important influence on the community structures and abundances of AOMs in mangrove sediment and affects the nitrogen cycle in such ecosystem.

Archaeal Diversity and Spatial Distribution in the Surface Sediment of the South China Sea

Archaea represent a significant portion of biomass in the marine sediments and may play an important role in global carbon cycle. However, the identity and composition of deep sea sediment Archaea are unclear. Here, we used the archaeal 16S rRNA gene primers to determine the diversity and community structure of Archaea from shallow water (<100 m) and deep water (>1500 m) sediments in the South China Sea. Phylogenetically the archaeal community is separated between the shallow- and deep sea sediments, with the former being dominated by the Thaumarchaeota and the latter by the Marine Benthic Group B, E and the South African GoldMine Euryarchaeotal Group as well as Thaumarchaeota. Sand content showed significant correlation with Thaumarchaeota, suggesting that the porous media may create an oxic environment that allowed these aerobic organisms to thrive in the surface sediments. The carbon isotope composition of total organic carbon was significantly correlated to the distribution of archaeal groups, suggesting that Archaea overall may be constrained by the availability or sources of organic carbon in the sediments of the South China Sea.