scholarly journals Abundance-occupancy relationships along taxonomic ranks reveal a consistency of niche differentiation in marine bacterioplankton with distinct lifestyles

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dandan Izabel-Shen ◽  
Anna-Lena Höger ◽  
Klaus Jürgens

Abundance-occupancy relationships (AORs) are an important determinant of biotic community dynamics and habitat suitability. However, little is known about their role in complex bacterial communities, either within a phylogenetic framework or as a function of niche breadth. Based on data obtained in a field study in the St. Lawrence Estuary, we used 16S rRNA gene sequencing to examine the vertical patterns, strength, and character of AORs for particle-attached and free-living bacterial assemblages. Free-living communities were phylogenetically more diverse than particle-attached communities. The dominant taxa were consistent in terms of their presence/absence but population abundances differed in surface water vs. the cold intermediate layer. Significant, positive AORs characterized all of the surveyed communities across all taxonomic ranks of bacteria, thus demonstrating an ecologically conserved trend for both free-living and particle-attached bacteria. The strength of the AORs was low at the species level but higher at the genus and phylum levels. These results demonstrate that an assessment of the distributions and population densities of finely resolved taxa does not necessarily improve determinations of apparent niche differences in marine bacterioplankton communities at regional scales compared with the information inferred from a broad taxonomic classification.

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dandan Izabel-Shen ◽  
Anna-Lena Höger ◽  
Klaus Jürgens

Abundance-occupancy relationships (AORs) are an important determinant of biotic community dynamics and habitat suitability. However, little is known about their role in complex bacterial communities, either within a phylogenetic framework or as a function of niche breadth. Based on data obtained in a field study in the St. Lawrence Estuary, we used 16S rRNA gene sequencing to examine the vertical patterns, strength, and character of AORs for particle-attached and free-living bacterial assemblages. Free-living communities were phylogenetically more diverse than particle-attached communities. The dominant taxa were consistent in terms of their presence/absence but population abundances differed in surface water vs. the cold intermediate layer. Significant, positive AORs characterized all of the surveyed communities across all taxonomic ranks of bacteria, thus demonstrating an ecologically conserved trend for both free-living and particle-attached bacteria. The strength of the AORs was low at the species level but higher at and above the genus level. These results demonstrate that an assessment of the distributions and population densities of finely resolved taxa does not necessarily improve determinations of apparent niche differences in marine bacterioplankton communities at regional scales compared with the information inferred from a broad taxonomic classification.


2009 ◽  
Vol 75 (9) ◽  
pp. 2879-2888 ◽  
Author(s):  
Koty Sharp ◽  
Karen E. Arthur ◽  
Liangcai Gu ◽  
Cliff Ross ◽  
Genelle Harrison ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTThe cyanobacterial genusLyngbyaincludes free-living, benthic, filamentous cyanobacteria that form periodic nuisance blooms in lagoons, reefs, and estuaries.Lyngbyaspp. are prolific producers of biologically active compounds that deter grazers and help blooms persist in the marine environment. Here, our investigations reveal the presence of three distinctLyngbyaspecies on nearshore reefs in Broward County, FL, sampled in 2006 and 2007. With a combination of morphological measurements, molecular biology techniques, and natural products chemistry, we associated these threeLyngbyaspecies with three distinctLyngbyachemotypes. One species, identified asLyngbyacf.confervoidesvia morphological measurements and 16S rRNA gene sequencing, produces a diverse array of bioactive peptides and depsipeptides. Our results indicate that the other twoLyngbyaspecies produce either microcolins A and B or curacin D and dragonamides C and D. Results from screening for the biosynthetic capacity for curacin production among the threeLyngbyachemotypes in this study correlated that capacity with the presence of curacin D. Our work on these bloom-formingLyngbyaspecies emphasizes the significant phylogenetic and chemical diversity of the marine cyanobacteria on southern Florida reefs and identifies some of the genetic components of those differences.


2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (8) ◽  
pp. 609-619 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sofie E. De Meyer ◽  
Leah Briscoe ◽  
Pilar Martínez-Hidalgo ◽  
Christina M. Agapakis ◽  
Paulina Estrada de-los Santos ◽  
...  

Genome analysis of fourteen mimosoid and four papilionoid beta-rhizobia together with fourteen reference alpha-rhizobia for both nodulation (nod) and nitrogen-fixing (nif/fix) genes has shown phylogenetic congruence between 16S rRNA/MLSA (combined 16S rRNA gene sequencing and multilocus sequence analysis) and nif/fix genes, indicating a free-living diazotrophic ancestry of the beta-rhizobia. However, deeper genomic analysis revealed a complex symbiosis acquisition history in the beta-rhizobia that clearly separates the mimosoid and papilionoid nodulating groups. Mimosoid-nodulating beta-rhizobia have nod genes tightly clustered in the nodBCIJHASU operon, whereas papilionoid-nodulating Burkholderia have nodUSDABC and nodIJ genes, although their arrangement is not canonical because the nod genes are subdivided by the insertion of nif and other genes. Furthermore, the papilionoid Burkholderia spp. contain duplications of several nod and nif genes. The Burkholderia nifHDKEN and fixABC genes are very closely related to those found in free-living diazotrophs. In contrast, nifA is highly divergent between both groups, but the papilionoid species nifA is more similar to alpha-rhizobia nifA than to other groups. Surprisingly, for all Burkholderia, the fixNOQP and fixGHIS genes required for cbb3 cytochrome oxidase production and assembly are missing. In contrast, symbiotic Cupriavidus strains have fixNOQPGHIS genes, revealing a divergence in the evolution of two distinct electron transport chains required for nitrogen fixation within the beta-rhizobia.


2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 90-101
Author(s):  
Sanju Kumari ◽  
Utkarshini Sharma ◽  
Rohit Krishna ◽  
Kanak Sinha ◽  
Santosh Kumar

Background: Cellulolysis is of considerable economic importance in laundry detergents, textile and pulp and paper industries and in fermentation of biomass into biofuels. Objective: The aim was to screen cellulase producing actinobacteria from the fruit orchard because of its requirement in several chemical reactions. Methods: Strains of actinobacteria were isolated on Sabouraud’s agar medium. Similarities in cultural and biochemical characterization by growing the strains on ISP medium and dissimilarities among them perpetuated to recognise nine groups of actinobacteria. Cellulase activity was measured by the diameter of clear zone around colonies on CMC agar and the amount of reducing sugar liberated from carboxymethyl cellulose in the supernatant of the CMC broth. Further, 16S rRNA gene sequencing and molecular characterization were placed before NCBI for obtaining recognition with accession numbers. Results: Prominent clear zones on spraying Congo Red were found around the cultures of strains of three groups SK703, SK706, SK708 on CMC agar plates. The enzyme assay for carboxymethylcellulase displayed extra cellulase activity in broth: 0.14, 0.82 and 0.66 µmol mL-1 min-1, respectively at optimum conditions of 35°C, pH 7.3 and 96 h of incubation. However, the specific cellulase activities per 1 mg of protein did not differ that way. It was 1.55, 1.71 and 1.83 μmol mL-1 min-1. The growing mycelia possessed short compact chains of 10-20 conidia on aerial branches. These morphological and biochemical characteristics, followed by their verification by Bergey’s Manual, categorically allowed the strains to be placed under actinobacteria. Further, 16S rRNA gene sequencing, molecular characterization and their evolutionary relationship through phylogenetics also confirmed the putative cellulase producing isolates of SK706 and SK708 subgroups to be the strains of Streptomyces. These strains on getting NCBI recognition were christened as Streptomyces glaucescens strain SK91L (KF527284) and Streptomyces rochei strain SK78L (KF515951), respectively. Conclusion: Conclusive evidence on the basis of different parameters established the presence of cellulase producing actinobacteria in the litchi orchard which can convert cellulose into fermentable sugar.


Life ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 254
Author(s):  
Ying Wang ◽  
Jianqing Zhu ◽  
Jie Fang ◽  
Li Shen ◽  
Shuojia Ma ◽  
...  

We characterized the gut microbial composition and relative abundance of gut bacteria in the larvae and adults of Pieris canidia by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The gut microbiota structure was similar across the life stages and sexes. The comparative functional analysis on P. canidia bacterial communities with PICRUSt showed the enrichment of several pathways including those for energy metabolism, immune system, digestive system, xenobiotics biodegradation, transport, cell growth and death. The parameters often used as a proxy of insect fitness (development time, pupation rate, emergence rate, adult survival rate and weight of 5th instars larvae) showed a significant difference between treatment group and untreated group and point to potential fitness advantages with the gut microbiomes in P. canidia. These data provide an overall view of the bacterial community across the life stages and sexes in P. canidia.


Microbiome ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Janis R. Bedarf ◽  
Naiara Beraza ◽  
Hassan Khazneh ◽  
Ezgi Özkurt ◽  
David Baker ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Recent studies suggested the existence of (poly-)microbial infections in human brains. These have been described either as putative pathogens linked to the neuro-inflammatory changes seen in Parkinson’s disease (PD) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) or as a “brain microbiome” in the context of healthy patients’ brain samples. Methods Using 16S rRNA gene sequencing, we tested the hypothesis that there is a bacterial brain microbiome. We evaluated brain samples from healthy human subjects and individuals suffering from PD (olfactory bulb and pre-frontal cortex), as well as murine brains. In line with state-of-the-art recommendations, we included several negative and positive controls in our analysis and estimated total bacterial biomass by 16S rRNA gene qPCR. Results Amplicon sequencing did detect bacterial signals in both human and murine samples, but estimated bacterial biomass was extremely low in all samples. Stringent reanalyses implied bacterial signals being explained by a combination of exogenous DNA contamination (54.8%) and false positive amplification of host DNA (34.2%, off-target amplicons). Several seemingly brain-enriched microbes in our dataset turned out to be false-positive signals upon closer examination. We identified off-target amplification as a major confounding factor in low-bacterial/high-host-DNA scenarios. These amplified human or mouse DNA sequences were clustered and falsely assigned to bacterial taxa in the majority of tested amplicon sequencing pipelines. Off-target amplicons seemed to be related to the tissue’s sterility and could also be found in independent brain 16S rRNA gene sequences. Conclusions Taxonomic signals obtained from (extremely) low biomass samples by 16S rRNA gene sequencing must be scrutinized closely to exclude the possibility of off-target amplifications, amplicons that can only appear enriched in biological samples, but are sometimes assigned to bacterial taxa. Sequences must be explicitly matched against any possible background genomes present in large quantities (i.e., the host genome). Using close scrutiny in our approach, we find no evidence supporting the hypothetical presence of either a brain microbiome or a bacterial infection in PD brains.


2021 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Musa Saheed Ibrahim ◽  
Beckley Ikhajiagbe

Abstract Background Rice forms a significant portion of food consumed in most household worldwide. Rice production has been hampered by soil factors such as ferruginousity which has limited phosphorus availability; an important mineral component for the growth and yield of rice. The presence of phosphate-solubilizing bacteria (PSB) in soils has been reported to enhance phosphate availability. In view of this, the present study employed three bacteria species (BCAC2, EMBF2 and BCAF1) that were previously isolated and proved P solubilization capacities as inocula to investigate the growth response of rice germinants in an in vitro setup. The bacteria isolates were first identified using 16S rRNA gene sequencing and then applied as inoculum. The inolula were prepared in three concentrations (10, 7.5 and 5.0 ml) following McFarland standard. Viable rice (var. FARO 44) seeds were sown in petri dishes and then inoculated with the three inocula at the different concentrations. The setup was studied for 28 days. Results 16S rRNA gene sequencing identified the isolates as: isolate BCAC2= Bacillus cereus strain GGBSU-1, isolate BCAF1= Proteus mirabilis strain TL14-1 and isolate EMBF2= Klebsiella variicola strain AUH-KAM-9. Significant improvement in rice germination, morphology, physiology and biomass parameters in the bacteria-inoculated setups was observed compared to the control. Germination percentage after 4 days was 100 % in the inoculated rice germinants compared to 65% in the control (NiS). Similarly, inoculation with the test isolates enhanced water-use efficiency by over 40%. The rice seedlings inoculated with Bacillus cereus strain GGBSU-1 (BiS) showed no signs of chlorosis and necrosis throughout the study period as against those inoculated with Proteus mirabilis strain TL14-1 (PiS) and Klebsiella variicola strain AUH-KAM-9 (KiS). Significant increase in chlorophyll-a, chlorophyll-b and alpha amylase was observed in the rice seedlings inoculated with BiS as against the NiS. Conclusion Inoculating rice seeds with Bacillus cereus strain GGBSU-1, Proteus mirabilis strain TL14-1 and Klebsiella variicola strain AUH-KAM-9 in an in vitro media significantly improved growth parameters of the test plant. Bacillus cereus strain GGBSU-1 showed higher efficiency due to a more improved growth properties observed.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vanessa Palmas ◽  
Silvia Pisanu ◽  
Veronica Madau ◽  
Emanuela Casula ◽  
Andrea Deledda ◽  
...  

AbstractIn the present study, we characterized the distinctive signatures of the gut microbiota (GM) from overweight/obese patients (OB), and normal-weight controls (NW), both of Sardinian origin. Fecal bacterial composition of 46 OB patients (BMI = 36.6 ± 6.0; F/M = 40/6) was analyzed and compared to that of 46 NW subjects (BMI = 21.6 ± 2.1; F/M = 41/5), matched for sex, age and smoking status, by using 16S rRNA gene sequencing on MiSeq Illumina platform. The gut microbial community of OB patients exhibited a significant decrease in the relative abundance of several Bacteroidetes taxa (i.e. Flavobacteriaceae, Porphyromonadaceae, Sphingobacteriaceae, Flavobacterium, Rikenella spp., Pedobacter spp., Parabacteroides spp., Bacteroides spp.) when compared to NW; instead, several Firmicutes taxa were significantly increased in the same subjects (Lachnospiraceae, Gemellaceae, Paenibacillaceae, Streptococcaceae, Thermicanaceae, Gemella, Mitsuokella, Streptococcus, Acidaminococcus spp., Eubacterium spp., Ruminococcus spp., Megamonas spp., Streptococcus, Thermicanus, Megasphaera spp. and Veillonella spp.). Correlation analysis indicated that body fatness and waist circumference negatively correlated with Bacteroidetes taxa, while Firmicutes taxa positively correlated with body fat and negatively with muscle mass and/or physical activity level. Furthermore, the relative abundance of several bacterial taxa belonging to Enterobacteriaceae family, known to exhibit endotoxic activity, was increased in the OB group compared to NW. The results extend our knowledge on the GM profiles in Italian OB, identifying novel taxa linking obesity and intestine.


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