Phylogenetic Diversity of Diazotrophs along an Experimental Nutrient Gradient in Mangrove Sediments

Journal of Marine Science and Engineering

Isabel C. Romero²  Myrna E. Jacobson-Meyers¹  Jed A. Fuhrman¹  Douglas G. Capone¹ 

[1] University of Southern California, 3616 Trousdale Parkway, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA; E-Mails:;College of Marine Science, University of South Florida, 140 7th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701, USA

关键词: diazotrophs;    mangrove sediments;    phylogenetic analysis;    generalized additive models;   

DOI  :  10.3390/jmse3030699

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

The diversity of diazotrophs was studied in the sediment of mangrove forests (Twin Cays, Belize) subjected to a long-term fertilization with nitrogen and phosphorus. Terminal Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (TRFLP) and cloning of PCR-amplified nifH genes were combined via in silico analysis to assign clones to TRFLP-nifH phylotypes, as well as to characterize the occurrence of phylotypes in response to environmental conditions. Results indicated that mangrove sediments from Belize harbor a unique diazotrophic community with a low metabolic diversity dominated by sulfate reducers. The variability of potential nitrogen-fixing sulfate reducers was explained by several environmental parameters, primarily by the abundance of dead roots in the sediments, and the concentration of H₂S in the pore-waters. This study describes the complexity of microbial communities within the mangrove sediments with specific functional groups varying along environmental gradients.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.