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Vertical Distribution of Ammonia-Oxidizing Archaea and Bacteria in Sediments of a Eutrophic Lake

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Abstract

In order to characterize the vertical variation of abundance and community composition of ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) and ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) in sediments of a eutrophic lake, Lake Taihu, molecular techniques including real-time PCR, clone library, and sequencing were carried out in this study. Abundances of archaeal amoA gene (ranged from 2.34 × 106 to 4.43 × 107 copies [g dry sediment]−1) were higher than those of bacterial amoA gene (ranged from 5.02 × 104 to 6.91 × 106 copies [g dry sediment]−1) for all samples and both of them exhibited negative correlations with the increased depths. Diversities of archaeal and bacterial amoA gene increased with the elevated depths. There were no significant variations of AOB community structures derived from different sediment depths, whereas obvious differences were observed for the AOA community compositions. The information acquired in this study would be useful to elucidate the roles of AOA and AOB in the nitrogen cycling of freshwater ecosystems.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41001044, 41101052, U1202231), Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province, China (BK2011876), and a Project Funded by the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Hydrology-Water Resources and Hydraulic Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing, 210098, China

    Dayong Zhao

  2. College of Hydrology and Water Resources, Hohai University, Nanjing, 210098, China

    Dayong Zhao, Wenhua Wan, Huidi Liang & Rui Huang

  3. State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, China

    Jin Zeng & Qinglong L. Wu

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  1. Dayong Zhao
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  2. Jin Zeng
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  6. Qinglong L. Wu
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Correspondence to Dayong Zhao.

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Zhao, D., Zeng, J., Wan, W. et al. Vertical Distribution of Ammonia-Oxidizing Archaea and Bacteria in Sediments of a Eutrophic Lake. Curr Microbiol 67, 327–332 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-013-0369-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-013-0369-7

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