Diversity and abundance of ammonia-oxidizing prokaryotes in sediments from the coastal Pearl River estuary to the South China Sea |
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Authors: | Huiluo Cao Yiguo Hong Meng Li Ji-Dong Gu |
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Institution: | (1) Laboratory of Environmental Microbiology and Toxicology, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, SAR, People’s Republic of China;(2) State Key Laboratory of Oceanography in the Tropics, South China Sea Institute of Oceanography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 164 Xingang Road West, Guangzhou, 510301, People’s Republic of China;(3) The Swire Institute of Marine Science, The University of Hong Kong, Shek O, Cape d’Aguilar, Hong Kong, SAR, People’s Republic of China; |
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Abstract: | In the present study the diversity and abundance of nitrifying microbes including ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) and betaproteobacteria
(beta-AOB) were investigated, along with the physicochemical parameters potentially affecting them, in a transect of surface
sediments from the coastal margin adjacent to the Pearl River estuary to the slope in the deep South China Sea. Nitrifying
microbial diversity was determined by detecting the amoA (ammonia monooxygenase subunit A) gene. An obvious community structure shift for both AOA and beta-AOB from the coastal marginal
areas to the slope in the deep-sea was detected, while the OTU numbers of AOA amoA were more stable than those of the beta-AOB. The OTUs of beta-AOB increased with the distance from the coastal margin areas
to the slope in the deep-sea. Beta-AOB showed lower diversity with dominant strains in a polluted area but higher diversity
without dominant strains in a clean area. Moreover, the diversity of beta-AOB was correlated with pH values, while no noticeable
relationships were established between AOA and physicochemical parameters. Beta-AOB was more sensitive to transect environmental
variability and might be a potential indicator for environmental changes. Additionally, the surface sediments surveyed in
the South China Sea harboured diverse and distinct AOA and beta-AOB phylotypes different from other environments, suggesting
the endemicity of some nitrifying prokaryotes in the South China Sea. |
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