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Genetic diversity patterns of microbial communities in a subtropical riverine ecosystem (Jiulong River, southeast China)

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Abstract

Prokaryotic and eukaryotic microbes are key organisms in aquatic ecosystems and play pivotal roles in the biogeochemical cycles, but little is known about genetic diversity of these communities in subtropical rivers. In this study, microbial planktonic communities were determined by using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analysis from the Jiulong River, southeast China, and their relationships with local environmental factors were studied. The Betaproteobacteria (26%) and Dinophyceae (26%) were the most dominant taxa in prokaryotic and eukaryotic clones derived from DGGE bands, respectively. Further, both cluster and ordination analyses of prokaryotic and eukaryotic DGGE fingerprinting resulted in three identical groups from the 15 sites, which were closely related with the environmental factors. Partial redundancy analysis (partial RDA) revealed that agricultural pollution (phosphorus and nitrogen) and saltwater intrusion (conductivity and salinity) were the main factors impacting microbial community composition, by explaining more than two-thirds of the total variation in both prokaryotic (67.0%) and eukaryotic (70.5%) communities. Moreover, the robust and quantifiable relationship between DGGE results and environmental variables indicated that the community-level molecular fingerprinting techniques could support the physicochemical assessment of riverine water quality and ecosystem health.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Xian Zhang for field sampling, Bo Wei, Huining Zhang and Xin Yu for determining nutrient concentrations (nitrogen, phosphorus, and carbon), and Qing Li for providing Fig. 1. We also thank David M. Wilkinson, Guangjie Chen, Wenjing Zhang, and two anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments and suggestions. This research was supported by the Knowledge Innovation Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Nos. KZCX2-YW-QN401 and KZCX2-YW-Q02-04), the Xiamen Project of Science and Technology for Distinguished Young Scholars (No. 3502Z20116006), the Key Science and Technology Project of Fujian Province, China (No. 2009Y0044), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41006087), and the China International Science and Technology Cooperation Program (No. 2009DFB90120).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Aquatic Ecohealth Group, Key Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1799 Jimei Road, Xiamen, 361021, People’s Republic of China

    Lemian Liu, Jun Yang & Yongyu Zhang

  2. Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 19 Yuquan Road, Beijing, 100039, People’s Republic of China

    Lemian Liu

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  1. Lemian Liu
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  2. Jun Yang
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Correspondence to Jun Yang.

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Liu, L., Yang, J. & Zhang, Y. Genetic diversity patterns of microbial communities in a subtropical riverine ecosystem (Jiulong River, southeast China). Hydrobiologia 678, 113–125 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-011-0834-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-011-0834-x

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