[Diversity of soil archaea in Tibetan Mila Mountains]

Abstract

Objective: In order to study the diversity of archaea and ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) of the alp prairie soil in Mila Mountain of Tibet.

Methods: Total microbial DNA was directly extracted from the alp prairie of Mila Mountain. The clone library of 16S rRNA genes and amoA genes were amplified by PCR with universal primer sets. The sequences of archaea and AOA were defined into operational taxonomic units (OTUs) according to the 97% similarity threshold for OTU assignment was performed using the software program DOTUR.

Results: Phylogenetic analysis revealed archaea in the soil of Mila Mountain including the Crenarchaeota (71.7%) and unclassified-Archaea (28.3%) phyla. All the Crenarchaeota belong to the Thermoprotei. Phylogenetic analysis revealed AOA in the alp prairie soil of Mila Mountain belonged to the kingdom Crenarchaeota. Archaea and AOA species composition from Mila Mountain included 64 OTUs and 75 OTUs.

Conclusion: These findings show prolific archaeal diversity in the alp prairie soil of Mila Mountain, where they may be actively involved in nitrification.