Microb Ecol (2014) 68:339–350 DOI 10.1007/s00248-014-0407-4
SOIL MICROBIOLOGY
Habitat Specialization Along a Wetland Moisture Gradient Differs Between Ammonia-oxidizing and Denitrifying Microorganisms Ariane L. Peralta & Jeffrey W. Matthews & Angela D. Kent
Received: 16 October 2012 / Accepted: 27 February 2014 / Published online: 25 March 2014 # Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014
Abstract Gradients in abiotic parameters, such as soil moisture, can strongly influence microbial community structure and function. Denitrifying and ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms, in particular, have contrasting physiological responses to abiotic factors such as oxygen concentration and soil moisture. Identifying abiotic factors that govern the composition and activity of denitrifying and ammonia-oxidizing communities is critical for understanding the nitrogen cycle. The objectives of this study were to (i) examine denitrifier and archaeal ammonia oxidizer community composition and (ii) assess the taxa occurring within each functional group related to soil conditions along an environmental gradient. Soil was sampled across four transects at four locations along a dry to saturated environmental gradient at a restored wetland. Soil pH and soil organic matter content increased from dry to saturated plots. Composition of soil denitrifier and ammonia
Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00248-014-0407-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. A. L. Peralta : J. W. Matthews : A. D. Kent Program in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, 505 S. Goodwin Ave., Urbana, IL 61801, USA J. W. Matthews : A. D. Kent (*) Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, 1102 S. Goodwin Ave., Urbana, IL 61801, USA e-mail:
[email protected] J. W. Matthews Illinois Natural History Survey, University of Illinois at Urbana– Champaign, 1816 S. Oak St., Champaign, IL 61820, USA Present Address: A. L. Peralta Department of Biology, East Carolina University, Howell Science Complex, Mail Stop 551, Greenville, NC 27858, USA
oxidizer functional groups was assessed by terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) community analysis, and local soil factors were also characterized. Microbial community composition of denitrifiers and ammonia oxidizers differed along the moisture gradient (denitrifier: ANOSIM R=0.739, P
