Comparison of microbial taxonomic and functional shift pattern along contamination gradient. Issue 1 (December 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Ren, Youhua; Niu, Jiaojiao; Huang, Wenkun; Peng, Deliang; Xiao, Yunhua; Zhang, Xian; Liang, Yili; Liu, Xueduan; Yin, Huaqun
• Is Part Of: BMC microbiology. Volume 16:Issue 1(2016)
• Page Start: 1
• Page End: 9
• Publication Date: 2016-12
• Subjects: Heavy metal contamination -- Microbial remediation -- Taxonomic and functional composition -- Null model test; Microbiology -- Periodicals; 579.05
• DOI: 10.1186/s12866-016-0731-6
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1471-2180

Abstract

Abstract Background The interaction mechanism between microbial communities and environment is a key issue in microbial ecology. Microbial communities usually change significantly under environmental stress, which has been studied both phylogenetically and functionally, however which method is more effective in assessing the relationship between microbial communities shift and environmental changes still remains controversial. Results By comparing the microbial taxonomic and functional shift pattern along heavy metal contamination gradient, we found that both sedimentary composition and function shifted significantly along contamination gradient. For example, the relative abundance ofGeobacter andFusibacter decreased along contamination gradient (from high to low), whileJanthinobacterium andArthrobacter increased their abundances. Most genes involved in heavy metal resistance (e.g., metc, aoxb andmer ) showed higher intensity in sites with higher concentration of heavy metals. Comparing the two shift patterns, there were correlations between them, because functional and phylogenetic β-diversities were significantly correlated, and many heavy metal resistance genes were derived fromGeobacter, explaining their high abundance in heavily contaminated sites. However, there was a stronger link between functional composition and environmental drivers, while stochasticity played an important role in formation and succession of phylogenetic composition demonstrated by null model test. Conclusions Overall our research suggested that the responses of functional traits depended more on environmental changes, while stochasticity played an important role in formation and succession of phylogenetic composition for microbial communities. So profiling microbial functional composition seems more appropriate to study the relationship between microbial communities and environment, as well as explore the adaptation and remediation mechanism of microbial communities to heavy metal contamination.