Microbial diversity in hummock and hollow soils of three wetlands on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau revealed by 16S rRNA pyrosequencing

Yongcui Deng; Xiaoyong Cui; Marcela Hernández; Marc G Dumont

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0103115

Microbial diversity in hummock and hollow soils of three wetlands on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau revealed by 16S rRNA pyrosequencing

PLoS One. 2014 Jul 31;9(7):e103115. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0103115. eCollection 2014.

Authors

Yongcui Deng¹, Xiaoyong Cui², Marcela Hernández³, Marc G Dumont³

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Virtual Geographic Environment of the Ministry of Education, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, China; University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Department of Biogeochemistry, Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg, Germany.
² University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
³ Department of Biogeochemistry, Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg, Germany.

Abstract

The wetlands of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau are believed to play an important role in global nutrient cycling, but the composition and diversity of microorganisms in this ecosystem are poorly characterized. An understanding of the effects of geography and microtopography on microbial populations will provide clues to the underlying mechanisms that structure microbial communities. In this study, we used pyrosequencing-based analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences to assess and compare the composition of soil microbial communities present in hummock and hollow soils from three wetlands (Dangxiong, Hongyuan and Maduo) on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, the world's highest plateau. A total of 36 bacterial phyla were detected. Proteobacteria (34.5% average relative abundance), Actinobacteria (17.3%) and Bacteroidetes (11%) had the highest relative abundances across all sites. Chloroflexi, Acidobacteria, Verrucomicrobia, Firmicutes, and Planctomycetes were also relatively abundant (1-10%). In addition, archaeal sequences belonging to Euryarchaea, Crenarchaea and Thaumarchaea were detected. Alphaproteobacteria sequences, especially of the order Rhodospirillales, were significantly more abundant in Maduo than Hongyuan and Dangxiong wetlands. Compared with Hongyuan soils, Dangxiong and Maduo had significantly higher relative abundances of Gammaproteobacteria sequences (mainly order Xanthomonadales). Hongyuan wetland had a relatively high abundance of methanogens (mainly genera Methanobacterium, Methanosarcina and Methanosaeta) and methanotrophs (mainly Methylocystis) compared with the other two wetlands. Principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) indicated that the microbial community structure differed between locations and microtopographies and canonical correspondence analysis indicated an association between microbial community structure and soil properties or geography. These insights into the microbial community structure and the main controlling factors in wetlands of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau provide a valuable background for further studies on biogeochemical processes in this distinct ecosystem.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Biodiversity*
China
RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / genetics*
Sequence Analysis / methods*
Soil Microbiology*
Wetlands*

Substances

RNA, Ribosomal, 16S

Grants and funding

YD was supported by a CAS/MPG doctoral promotion program fellowship and MH by a research fellowship of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. Support was also obtained from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant No. 11079053). YD acknowledges further support from the National Basic Research Program (2013CB956000), Strategic Priority Research Program (B) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDB15010201), and the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.