Dataset Information

Environmental Conditions Outweigh Geographical Contiguity in Determining the Similarity of nifH-Harboring Microbial Communities in Sediments of Two Disconnected Marginal Seas.

ABSTRACT: Ecological evidence suggests that heterotrophic diazotrophs fueled by organic carbon respiration in sediments play an important role in marine nitrogen fixation. However, fundamental knowledge about the identities, abundance, diversity, biogeography, and controlling environmental factors of nitrogen-fixing communities in open ocean sediments is still elusive. Surprisingly, little is known also about nitrogen-fixing communities in sediments of the more research-accessible marginal seas. Here we report on an investigation of the environmental geochemistry and putative diazotrophic microbiota in the sediments of Bohai Sea, an eutrophic marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean. Diverse and abundant nifH gene sequences were identified and sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) were found to be the dominant putative nitrogen-fixing microbes. Community statistical analyses suggested bottom water temperature, bottom water chlorophyll a content (or the covarying turbidity) and sediment porewater Eh (or the covarying pH) as the most significant environmental factors controlling the structure and spatial distribution of the putative diazotrophic communities, while sediment Hg content, sulfide content, and porewater [Formula: see text]-Si content were identified as the key environmental factors correlated positively with the nifH gene abundance in Bohai Sea sediments. Comparative analyses between the Bohai Sea and the northern South China Sea (nSCS) identified a significant composition difference of the putative diazotrophic communities in sediments between the shallow-water (estuarine and nearshore) and deep-water (offshore and deep-sea) environments, and sediment porewater dissolved oxygen content, water depth and in situ temperature as the key environmental factors tentatively controlling the species composition, community structure, and spatial distribution of the marginal sea sediment nifH-harboring microbiota. This confirms the ecophysiological specialization and niche differentiation between the shallow-water and deep-water sediment diazotrophic communities and suggests that the in situ physical and geochemical conditions play a more important role than geographical contiguity in determining the community similarity of the diazotrophic microbiota in marginal sea sediments.

SUBMITTER: Zhou H

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4951488 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Environmental Conditions Outweigh Geographical Contiguity in Determining the Similarity of nifH-Harboring Microbial Communities in Sediments of Two Disconnected Marginal Seas.

Zhou Haixia H Dang Hongyue H Klotz Martin G MG

Frontiers in microbiology 20160720

Ecological evidence suggests that heterotrophic diazotrophs fueled by organic carbon respiration in sediments play an important role in marine nitrogen fixation. However, fundamental knowledge about the identities, abundance, diversity, biogeography, and controlling environmental factors of nitrogen-fixing communities in open ocean sediments is still elusive. Surprisingly, little is known also about nitrogen-fixing communities in sediments of the more research-accessible marginal seas. Here we r ...[more]

PMID: 27489551

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Project description:Vibrio spp. are ubiquitous marine bacteria with high metabolism flexibility and genome plasticity. Previous studies have revealed the dynamics of planktonic vibrios in relation to environmental forces, such as temperature and salinity. However, little is known about Vibrio ecology in benthic environments. Here, we elucidate the abundance, diversity, and spatial distribution of Vibrio spp. in sediments of the Chinese marginal seas, with a wide spatial range from north to south covering the Yellow Sea (YS), East China Sea (ECS), and South China Sea (SCS). Quantitative analysis showed that Vibrio spp. were most abundant in the SCS (∼9.04 × 105 copies/g) compared to the YS (∼1.00 × 105 copies/g) and ECS (∼8.86 × 105 copies/g). Vibrio community compositions derived from Illumina sequencing of Vibrio-specific 16S rRNA genes varied significantly between sampling areas, which was reflected by a strong distance-decay pattern. The spatial distribution of Vibrio was governed by a joint effect of spatial and environmental factors (especially temperature, salinity, and SiO32-), and their respective pure effects explained only a small fraction of the community variation. Moreover, we identified the most prominent operational taxonomic units (OTUs) that were partitioned in these sea areas. Whereas Vibrionaceae OTU20 and Photobacterium lipolyticum were prevalent in the YS, Vibrio gigantis and Photobacterium piscicola, and P. piscicola, Photobacterium lutimaris, and Photobacterium alginatilyticum were prevalent in the ECS and SCS, respectively. Our study demonstrated clear spatial heterogeneity of Vibrio spp. in sediments of the Chinese marginal seas, laying a foundation for fully understanding the marine Vibrio ecology and the ecological roles of the species.IMPORTANCEVibrio is an important component of natural marine microbial populations in terms of pathogenicity and roles in carbon cycling. Compared to the marine pelagic environment, our knowledge of the diversity and distribution pattern of Vibrio spp. in sediment is limited. Here, we show higher Vibrio abundance in Chinese marginal seas than in other studied sediments. There was a clear spatial differentiation of Vibrio abundance and community composition in different sea areas. The benthic Vibrio community displayed a strong distance-decay pattern across a wide spatial range, which was formed under the combined effects of spatial and environmental factors. These results provide deep insights into the ecological dynamics of Vibrio and its environmental controls, facilitating a more comprehensive understanding of the marine Vibrio ecology.

Dataset Information

Environmental Conditions Outweigh Geographical Contiguity in Determining the Similarity of nifH-Harboring Microbial Communities in Sediments of Two Disconnected Marginal Seas.

Publications

Environmental Conditions Outweigh Geographical Contiguity in Determining the Similarity of nifH-Harboring Microbial Communities in Sediments of Two Disconnected Marginal Seas.

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