Seasonal dynamic changes in bacterial compositions in the Inner Mongolia desert steppe

Polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) technique was employed to examine the seasonal dynamic changes in bacterial community composition in the Inner Mongolia desert steppe using specific primers F954 and R1369. Bright and reproducible bands were sequenced, and the phylogenic tree was constructed. The results show that the bacterial community composition changed between different seasons. The specific bands were different between the sampling sites with light and heavy levels of degraded grassland. Three main types of bacteria constituting the microbial community in the Inner Mongolia desert steppe belonged to the α, γ andgd-sub phyla of Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes and Acidobacteria. The unculturable bacteria accounted for 69% of the whole bacterial community of the Inner Mongolia desert steppe.