Stratification of Archaeal communities in shallow sediments of the Pearl River Estuary,Southern China |
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Authors: | Lijing Jiang Yanping Zheng Jinquan Chen Xiang Xiao Fengping Wang |
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Institution: | (1) Key Laboratory of Marine Biogenetic Resources, Third Institute of Oceanography, State Oceanic Administration, Xiamen, 361005, People’s Republic of China;(2) Key Laboratory of MOE for Microbial Metabolism and School of Life Science & Biotechnology, Shanghai JiaoTong University, Shanghai, 200240, People’s Republic of China;(3) State Key Laboratory of Ocean Engineering, Shanghai JiaoTong University, Shanghai, 200240, People’s Republic of China; |
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Abstract: | Microorganisms are known to play fundamental roles in the biogeochemical cycling of carbon in the coastal environments. To
get to know the composition and ecological roles of the archaeal communities within the sediments of the Pearl River Estuary,
Southern China, the diversity and vertical distribution of archaea in a sediment core was reported based on the 16S rRNA and
mcrA genes for the first time. Quantitative PCR analysis revealed that archaea were present at 106–107 16S rRNA gene copies/g (wet weight) in the sediment core, and the proportion of mcrA versus 16S rRNA gene copies varied from 11 to 45%. 16S rRNA gene libraries were constructed and analyzed for the top layer
(0–6 cm), middle layer (18–24 cm), sulfate-methane transition zone (SMTZ, 32–42 cm), and bottom layer (44–50 cm) sediments.
The results indicated that Miscellaneous Crenarchaeotal Group (MCG) was the main component in the sediments. The MCG archaea
could be further divided into six subgroups: MCG-A, B, C, D, E, and F. On the other hand, mcrA sequences from methanogens related to the order Methanomicrobiales and ANME-2 methanotrophs were detected in all sediment layers. Taken together, our data revealed a largely unknown archaeal
community in which MCG dominated within the Pearl River estuarine sediments, while methanogens and methane-oxidizing archaea
putatively involving in methane metabolism, were also found in the community. This is the first important step towards elucidating
the biogeochemical roles of these archaea in the Pearl River Estuary. |
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