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Diversity, Abundance, and Spatial Distribution of Ammonia-Oxidizing β-Proteobacteria in Sediments from Changjiang Estuary and Its Adjacent Area in East China Sea

  • Environmental Microbiology
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Abstract

Changjiang Estuary, the largest estuary in China, encompasses a wide range of nutrient loading and trophic levels from the rivers to the sea, providing an ideal natural environment to explore relationships between functional diversity, physical/chemical complexity, and ecosystem function. In this study, molecular biological techniques were used to analyze the community structure and diversity of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) in the sediments of Changjiang Estuary and its adjacent waters in East China Sea. The amoA gene (encoding ammonia monooxygenase subunit A) libraries analysis revealed extensive diversity within the β-Proteobacteria group of AOB, which were grouped into Nitrosospira-like and Nitrosomonas-like lineages. The majority of amoA gene sequences fell within Nitrosospira-like clade, and only a few sequences were clustered with the Nitrosomonas-like clade, indicating that Nitrosospira-like lineage may be more adaptable than Nitrosomonas-like lineage in this area. Multivariate statistical analysis indicated that the spatial distribution of the sedimentary β-Proteobacterial amoA genotype assemblages correlated significantly with nitrate, nitrite, and salinity. The vertical profile of amoA gene copies in gravity cores showed that intense sediment resuspension led to a deeper mixing layer. The horizontal distribution pattern of amoA gene copies was nearly correlated with the clayey mud belt in Changjiang Estuary and its adjacent area in East China Sea, where higher β-Proteobacteria phylogenetic diversity was observed. Meanwhile, those areas with high amoA copies in the surface sediments nearly matched those with low concentrations of dissolved oxygen and ammonium in the bottom water.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Mr. Guodong Chen for analyzing dissolved N, P, and Si concentrations. We are also grateful to Prof. Guanpin Yang from the Ocean University of China for kind suggestions. The endeavors of all staff on R/V Run-Jiang for assistance with the collection of samples and geochemical data during the cruise are gratefully acknowledged. This work was supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program) (No. 2011CB403602), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 40920164004 and 41221004) and the National Marine Public Welfare Research Project (201205031). The authors would like to thank the editor and anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments and suggestions to improve the quality of this paper.

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  1. College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Ocean University of China, 238 Songling Road, Qingdao, 266100, People’s Republic of China

    Yangyang Chen, Yu Zhen & Tiezhu Mi

  2. Key Laboratory of Marine Environment and Ecology, Ministry of Education, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266100, People’s Republic of China

    Yangyang Chen, Yu Zhen & Tiezhu Mi

  3. College of Marine Life Sciences, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266003, People’s Republic of China

    Hui He

  4. Shanghai Climate Center, Shanghai, 200030, People’s Republic of China

    Xinglan Lu

  5. College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266100, People’s Republic of China

    Zhigang Yu

  6. Key Laboratory of Marine Chemistry Theory and Technology, Ministry of Education, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266100, People’s Republic of China

    Zhigang Yu

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Correspondence to Yu Zhen.

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Chen, Y., Zhen, Y., He, H. et al. Diversity, Abundance, and Spatial Distribution of Ammonia-Oxidizing β-Proteobacteria in Sediments from Changjiang Estuary and Its Adjacent Area in East China Sea. Microb Ecol 67, 788–803 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-013-0341-x

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