Epiphytic bacterial communities on two common submerged macrophytes in Taihu Lake： diversity and host-specificity

• Published in: Chinese journal of oceanology and limnology Vol. 30; no. 2; pp. 237 - 247
• Main Author: 何聃 任丽娟 吴庆龙
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Heidelberg Springer-Verlag 01.03.2012; SP Science Press; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Aquatic plants; Bacteria; bacterial communities; Biodiversity; Biology; Burkholderiales; cluster analysis; Cyanobacteria; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Ecological function; epiphytes; gamma-Proteobacteria; genes; host specificity; hosts; Hydrilla verticillata; Lakes; leaves; Marine; methanotrophs; Nitrogen fixation; nitrogen-fixing bacteria; Oceanography; phylogeny; Plant populations; Polymorphism; restriction fragment length polymorphism; RFLP图谱; ribosomal RNA; Species diversity; submerged aquatic plants; Vallisneria; 太湖; 宿主特异性; 沉水植物; 细菌多样性; 群落多样性; 附生; 限制性片段长度多态性; China, People's Rep., Jiangsu; China, People's Rep., Tai Hu L; China, People's Rep; epiphytic bacterium; submerged macrophyte; phyllosphere; host-specificity
• ISSN: 0254-4059; 2096-5508; 1993-5005; 2523-3521
• DOI: 10.1007/s00343-012-1084-0

Leaves of terrestrial and aquatic plants are home to a wide diversity of bacterial species. However, the diversity and variability of epiphytic bacteria on their submerged plant hosts remains poorly understood. We investigated the diversity and composition of epiphytic bacteria from two common submerged macrophytes： Vallisneria natans and Hydrilla verticillata in Taihu Lake, Jiangsu, China, using methods of terminal restriction fragment length polymorphisms （T-RFLP） and clone library analyses targeted at bacterial 16S rRNA genes. The results show that： （1） the libraries of the two waterweeds contain wide phylogenetic distribution of bacteria, and that the sequences of the two libraries can be separated into 93 OTUs （at 97% similar value）; （2） Betaproteobacteria, including Burkholderiales, was the most abundant bacterial group on both plants. Cyanobacteria and Gammaproteobacteria were the second largest groups on V. natans and H. verticillata, respectively. Both clone libraries included some sequences related to those of methanotrophs and nitrogen-fixing bacteria; （3） Cluster analysis of the T-RFLP profiles showed two distinct clusters corresponding to the two plant populations. Both ANOSIM of the T-RFLP data and Libshuff analysis of the two clone libraries indicated a significant difference in epiphytic bacterial communities between the two plants. Therefore, the epiphytic bacterial communities on submerged macrophytes appear to be diverse and host-specific, which may aid in understanding the ecological functions of submerged macrophytes in general.