nirS-Encoding denitrifier community composition, distribution, and abundance along the coastal wetlands of China

• Published in: Applied microbiology and biotechnology Vol. 100; no. 19; pp. 8573 - 8582
• Main Authors: Gao, Juan, Hou, Lijun, Zheng, Yanling, Liu, Min, Yin, Guoyu, Li, Xiaofei, Lin, Xianbiao, Yu, Chendi, Wang, Rong, Jiang, Xiaofen, Sun, Xiuru
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.10.2016; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Ammonium; Ammonium Compounds - analysis; Analysis; Aquatic environment; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biota; Biotechnology; Chemical analysis; China; Community composition; Community structure; Denitrification; Environmental Biotechnology; Environmental factors; Environmental impact; Environmental Microbiology; GDP; Genes; Gross Domestic Product; Groundwater discharge; Heterogeneity; Hypoxia; Life Sciences; Metagenomics; Microbial Genetics and Genomics; Microbiology; Nitrates; Nitrite Reductases - analysis; Nitrite Reductases - genetics; Nitrogen; Nitrogen enrichment; Nitrogen removal; Phylogenetics; Phylogeography; Seawater; Sediments; Sequence Analysis, DNA; Sequence Homology; Studies; Temperature; Water - chemistry; Water analysis; Water quality; Wetlands; China; Community structure; Denitrification; Coastal wetlands; Abundance; Temperature; gene; nirS gene
• ISSN: 0175-7598; 1432-0614
• DOI: 10.1007/s00253-016-7659-5

For the past few decades, human activities have intensively increased the reactive nitrogen enrichment in China’s coastal wetlands. Although denitrification is a critical pathway of nitrogen removal, the understanding of denitrifier community dynamics driving denitrification remains limited in the coastal wetlands. In this study, the diversity, abundance, and community composition of nirS -encoding denitrifiers were analyzed to reveal their variations in China’s coastal wetlands. Diverse nirS sequences were obtained and more than 98 % of them shared considerable phylogenetic similarity with sequences obtained from aquatic systems (marine/estuarine/coastal sediments and hypoxia sea water). Clone library analysis revealed that the distribution and composition of nirS -harboring denitrifiers had a significant latitudinal differentiation, but without a seasonal shift. Canonical correspondence analysis showed that the community structure of nirS -encoding denitrifiers was significantly related to temperature and ammonium concentration. The nirS gene abundance ranged from 4.3 × 10 5 to 3.7 × 10 7 copies g −1 dry sediment, with a significant spatial heterogeneity. Among all detected environmental factors, temperature was a key factor affecting not only the nirS gene abundance but also the community structure of nirS -type denitrifiers. Overall, this study significantly enhances our understanding of the structure and dynamics of denitrifying communities in the coastal wetlands of China.