Changes in the soil bacterial community along a pedogenic gradient

Sci Rep. 2017 Nov 6;7(1):14593. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-15133-x.

Abstract

Current research on the influence of environmental and physicochemical factors in shaping the soil bacterial structure has seldom been approached from a pedological perspective. We studied the bacterial communities of eight soils selected along a pedogenic gradient at the local scale in a Mediterranean calcareous mountain (Sierra de María, SE Spain). The results showed that the relative abundance of Acidobacteria, Canditate division WPS-1, and Armatimonadetes decreased whereas that of Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Proteobacteria increased from the less-developed soils (Leptosol) to more-developed soils (Luvisol). This bacterial distribution pattern was also positively correlated with soil-quality parameters such as organic C, water-stable aggregates, porosity, moisture, and acidity. In addition, at a lower taxonomic level, the abundance of Acidobacteria Gp4, Armatimonadetes_gp4, Solirubrobacter, Microvirga, Terrimonas, and Nocardioides paralleled soil development and quality. Therefore, our work indicates that the composition of bacterial populations changes with pedogenesis, which could be considered a factor influencing the communities according to the environmental and physicochemical conditions during the soil formation.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Altitude
  • Bacteria / genetics
  • Computational Biology
  • Plants
  • RNA, Bacterial
  • RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
  • Soil / chemistry*
  • Soil / classification*
  • Soil Microbiology*
  • Spain

Substances

  • RNA, Bacterial
  • RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
  • Soil