scholarly journals Phylogenetic and functional potential links pH and N2O emissions in pasture soils

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Md Sainur Samad ◽  
Ambarish Biswas ◽  
Lars R. Bakken ◽  
Timothy J. Clough ◽  
Cecile A. M. de Klein ◽  
...  

Abstract Denitrification is mediated by microbial, and physicochemical, processes leading to nitrogen loss via N2O and N2 emissions. Soil pH regulates the reduction of N2O to N2, however, it can also affect microbial community composition and functional potential. Here we simultaneously test the link between pH, community composition, and the N2O emission ratio (N2O/(NO + N2O + N2)) in 13 temperate pasture soils. Physicochemical analysis, gas kinetics, 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing, metagenomic and quantitative PCR (of denitrifier genes: nirS, nirK, nosZI and nosZII) analysis were carried out to characterize each soil. We found strong evidence linking pH to both N2O emission ratio and community changes. Soil pH was negatively associated with N2O emission ratio, while being positively associated with both community diversity and total denitrification gene (nir & nos) abundance. Abundance of nosZII was positively linked to pH, and negatively linked to N2O emissions. Our results confirm that pH imposes a general selective pressure on the entire community and that this results in changes in emission potential. Our data also support the general model that with increased microbial diversity efficiency increases, demonstrated in this study with lowered N2O emission ratio through more efficient conversion of N2O to N2.

Author(s):  
Tamara J. H. M. van Bergen ◽  
Ana B. Rios-Miguel ◽  
Tom M. Nolte ◽  
Ad M. J. Ragas ◽  
Rosalie van Zelm ◽  
...  

Abstract Pharmaceuticals find their way to the aquatic environment via wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Biotransformation plays an important role in mitigating environmental risks; however, a mechanistic understanding of involved processes is limited. The aim of this study was to evaluate potential relationships between first-order biotransformation rate constants (kb) of nine pharmaceuticals and initial concentration of the selected compounds, and sampling season of the used activated sludge inocula. Four-day bottle experiments were performed with activated sludge from WWTP Groesbeek (The Netherlands) of two different seasons, summer and winter, spiked with two environmentally relevant concentrations (3 and 30 nM) of pharmaceuticals. Concentrations of the compounds were measured by LC–MS/MS, microbial community composition was assessed by 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing, and kb values were calculated. The biodegradable pharmaceuticals were acetaminophen, metformin, metoprolol, terbutaline, and phenazone (ranked from high to low biotransformation rates). Carbamazepine, diatrizoic acid, diclofenac, and fluoxetine were not converted. Summer and winter inocula did not show significant differences in microbial community composition, but resulted in a slightly different kb for some pharmaceuticals. Likely microbial activity was responsible instead of community composition. In the same inoculum, different kb values were measured, depending on initial concentration. In general, biodegradable compounds had a higher kb when the initial concentration was higher. This demonstrates that Michealis-Menten kinetic theory has shortcomings for some pharmaceuticals at low, environmentally relevant concentrations and that the pharmaceutical concentration should be taken into account when measuring the kb in order to reliably predict the fate of pharmaceuticals in the WWTP. Key points • Biotransformation and sorption of pharmaceuticals were assessed in activated sludge. • Higher initial concentrations resulted in higher biotransformation rate constants for biodegradable pharmaceuticals. • Summer and winter inocula produced slightly different biotransformation rate constants although microbial community composition did not significantly change. Graphical abstract


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucas Fillinger ◽  
Kerstin Hürkamp ◽  
Christine Stumpp ◽  
Nina Weber ◽  
Dominik Forster ◽  
...  

Understanding microbial community dynamics in the alpine cryosphere is an important step toward assessing climate change impacts on these fragile ecosystems and meltwater-fed environments downstream. In this study, we analyzed microbial community composition, variation in community alpha and beta diversity, and the number of prokaryotic cells and virus-like particles (VLP) in seasonal snowpack from two consecutive years at three high altitude mountain summits along a longitudinal transect across the European Alps. Numbers of prokaryotic cells and VLP both ranged around 104 and 105 per mL of snow meltwater on average, with variation generally within one order of magnitude between sites and years. VLP-to-prokaryotic cell ratios spanned two orders of magnitude, with median values close to 1, and little variation between sites and years in the majority of cases. Estimates of microbial community alpha diversity inferred from Hill numbers revealed low contributions of common and abundant microbial taxa to the total taxon richness, and thus low community evenness. Similar to prokaryotic cell and VLP numbers, differences in alpha diversity between years and sites were generally relatively modest. In contrast, community composition displayed strong variation between sites and especially between years. Analyses of taxonomic and phylogenetic community composition showed that differences between sites within years were mainly characterized by changes in abundances of microbial taxa from similar phylogenetic clades, whereas shifts between years were due to significant phylogenetic turnover. Our findings on the spatiotemporal dynamics and magnitude of variation of microbial abundances, community diversity, and composition in surface snow may help define baseline levels to assess future impacts of climate change on the alpine cryosphere.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (16) ◽  
pp. 5681
Author(s):  
Xiaodi Liu ◽  
Zengwei Feng ◽  
Yang Zhou ◽  
Honghui Zhu ◽  
Qing Yao

Both liming and plant residue incorporation are widely used practices for the amelioration of acidic soils—however, the difference in their effects is still not fully understood, especially regarding the microbial community. In this study, we took the acidic soils from a subtropical orchard as target soils, and implemented liming and plant residue incorporation with a leguminous and a gramineous cover crop as test plants. After six months of growth, soil pH, total organic carbon (TOC), dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and nutrient contents were determined, soil enzymes involving C, N, P cycling were assayed, and microbial communities were also analyzed using Polymerase Chain Reaction-Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE). Results showed that liming was more effective in elevating soil pH, while plant residue incorporation exerted a more comprehensive influence—not only on soil pH, but also on soil enzyme activity and microbial community. PCR-DGGE analysis revealed that liming changed the microbial community structure more greatly than plant residue incorporation, while plant residue incorporation altered the microbial community composition much more than liming. The growth responses of test plants to liming and plant residue incorporation depended on plant species, indicating the necessity to select appropriate practice for a particular crop. A further, detailed investigation into the microbial community composition, and the respective functions using metagenomic approach, is also suggested.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sébastien Renaut ◽  
Rachid Daoud ◽  
Jacynthe Masse ◽  
Agathe Vialle ◽  
Mohamed Hijri

Little is known about establishment success of the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal (AMF) inocula and their effects on a soil-indigenous community of AMF. In this study, we assessed the effect of introducing Rhizophagus irregularis DAOM-197198 in soil under field condition on the community composition of indigenous AMF in the roots of corn (Zea mays), soybean (Glycine max), and wheat (Triticum aestivum). Three field trials were conducted with inoculated and non-inoculated plots. Four to ten roots and their rhizosphere soil samples of two growth stages for corn and wheat, and one growing stage of soybean, were collected, totalling 122 root and soil samples. Root colonization was measured microscopically, and the fungal communities were determined by paired-end Illumina MiSeq amplicon sequencing using 18S rDNA marker. After quality trimming and merging of paired ends, 6.7 million sequences could be assigned to 414 different operational taxonomic units. These could be assigned to 68 virtual taxa (VT) using the AMF reference sequence database MaarjAM. The most abundant VT corresponded to R. irregularis. The inoculation treatment did not influence the presence of R. irregularis, or AMF community diversity in roots. This seems to indicate that inoculation with R. irregularis DAOM-197198 does not change the indigenous AMF community composition, probably because it is already present in high abundance naturally.


2016 ◽  
Vol 83 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nastassia V. Patin ◽  
Michelle Schorn ◽  
Kristen Aguinaldo ◽  
Tommie Lincecum ◽  
Bradley S. Moore ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Marine sediments harbor complex microbial communities that remain poorly studied relative to other biomes such as seawater. Moreover, bacteria in these communities produce antibiotics and other bioactive secondary metabolites, yet little is known about how these compounds affect microbial community structure. In this study, we used next-generation amplicon sequencing to assess native microbial community composition in shallow tropical marine sediments. The results revealed complex communities comprised of largely uncultured taxa, with considerable spatial heterogeneity and known antibiotic producers comprising only a small fraction of the total diversity. Organic extracts from cultured strains of the sediment-dwelling actinomycete genus Salinispora were then used in mesocosm studies to address how secondary metabolites shape sediment community composition. We identified predatory bacteria and other taxa that were consistently reduced in the extract-treated mesocosms, suggesting that they may be the targets of allelopathic interactions. We tested related taxa for extract sensitivity and found general agreement with the culture-independent results. Conversely, several taxa were enriched in the extract-treated mesocosms, suggesting that some bacteria benefited from the interactions. The results provide evidence that bacterial secondary metabolites can have complex and significant effects on sediment microbial communities. IMPORTANCE Ocean sediments represent one of Earth's largest and most poorly studied biomes. These habitats are characterized by complex microbial communities where competition for space and nutrients can be intense. This study addressed the hypothesis that secondary metabolites produced by the sediment-inhabiting actinomycete Salinispora arenicola affect community composition and thus mediate interactions among competing microbes. Next-generation amplicon sequencing of mesocosm experiments revealed complex communities that shifted following exposure to S. arenicola extracts. The results reveal that certain predatory bacteria were consistently less abundant following exposure to extracts, suggesting that microbial metabolites mediate competitive interactions. Other taxa increased in relative abundance, suggesting a benefit from the extracts themselves or the resulting changes in the community. This study takes a first step toward assessing the impacts of bacterial metabolites on sediment microbial communities. The results provide insight into how low-abundance organisms may help structure microbial communities in ocean sediments.


2011 ◽  
Vol 77 (21) ◽  
pp. 7560-7567 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marketa Sagova-Mareckova ◽  
Marek Omelka ◽  
Ladislav Cermak ◽  
Zdenek Kamenik ◽  
Jana Olsovska ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTPlant and microbial community composition in connection with soil chemistry determines soil nutrient cycling. The study aimed at demonstrating links between plant and microbial communities and soil chemistry occurring among and within four sites: two pine forests with contrasting soil pH and two grasslands of dissimilar soil chemistry and vegetation. Soil was characterized by C and N content, particle size, and profiles of low-molecular-weight compounds determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) of soil extracts. Bacterial and actinobacterial community composition was assessed by terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) and cloning followed by sequencing. Abundances of bacteria, fungi, and actinobacteria were determined by quantitative PCR. In addition, a pool of secondary metabolites was estimated byermresistance genes coding for rRNA methyltransferases. The sites were characterized by a stable proportion of C/N within each site, while on a larger scale, the grasslands had a significantly lower C/N ratio than the forests. A Spearman's test showed that soil pH was correlated with bacterial community composition not only among sites but also within each site. Bacterial, actinobacterial, and fungal abundances were related to carbon sources while T-RFLP-assessed microbial community composition was correlated with the chemical environment represented by HPLC profiles. Actinobacteria community composition was the only studied microbial characteristic correlated to all measured factors. It was concluded that the microbial communities of our sites were influenced primarily not only by soil abiotic characteristics but also by dominant litter quality, particularly, by percentage of recalcitrant compounds.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jing Zhu ◽  
Xiang Sun ◽  
Qi-Yong Tang ◽  
Zhi-Dong Zhang

Endophytes are essential components of plant microbiota. Studies have shown that environmental factors and seasonal alternation can change the microbial community composition of plants. However, most studies have mainly emphasized the transitive endophyte communities and seasonal alternation but paid less attention to their persistence through multiple seasons. Kalidium schrenkianum is a perennial halophyte growing in an arid habitat with radiation stress (137Cs) in northwest China. In this study, K. schrenkianum growing under different environmental stresses were selected to investigate the dynamics and persistency of endophytic microbial communities amid seasons in a year. The results showed that Gammaproteobacteria and unassigned Actinobacteria were the most dominant bacterial communities, while the most dominant fungal communities were Dothideomycetes, unassigned Fungi, and Sodariomycetes. The bacterial community diversity in roots was higher than that in aerial tissues, and root communities had higher diversity in summer and autumn. In contrast, the fungal community diversity was higher in aerial tissues comparing to roots, and the highest diversity was in spring. Season was a determinant factor in the microbial community composition in the roots but not in the aerial tissues. RaupCrick index suggested that the bacterial communities were mainly shaped by stochastic processes. Our research investigated the community traits and members with temporal persistency. For example, bacterial taxa Afipia, Delftia, Stenotrophomonas, Xanthomonadaceae_B_OTU_211, and fungal taxa Neocamarosporium F_OTU_388, F_OTU_404, F_OTU_445, and unassigned Fungi F_OTU_704, F_OTU_767 showed higher frequencies than predicted in all the four seasons tested with neutral community model. The networks of co-occurrence associations presented in two or more seasons were visualized which suggested potential time-continuous core modules in most communities. In addition, the community dynamics and persistency also showed different patterns by radiation levels. Our findings would enhance our understanding of the microbial community assembly under environmental stress, and be promising to improve the development of integrated concept of core microbiome in future.


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