Oils with different degree of saturation:effects on ileal digestibility of fat and corresponding additivity and bacterial community in growing pigs

Background Oils are important sources of energy in pig diets.The combination of oils with different degree of saturation contributes to improve the utilization efficiency of the mixed oils and may reduce the cost of oil supplemented.An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of oils with different degree of saturation on the fat digestibility and corresponding additivity and bacterial community in growing pigs.Methods Eighteen crossbred(Duroc×Landrace×Yorkshire)barrows(initial body weight:29.3±2.8 kg)were surgically fitted with a T-cannula in the distal ileum.The experimental diets included a fat-free basal diet and 5 oil-added diets.The 5 oil-added diets were formulated by adding 6%oil with different ratio of unsaturated to saturated fatty acids(U:S)to the basal diet.The 5 oils were palm oil(U:S=1.2),canola oil(U:S=12.0),and palm oil and canola oil were mixed in different proportions to prepare a combination of U:S of 2.5,3.5 and 4.5,respectively.Results The apparent and standardized ileal digestibility(AID and SID)of fat and fatty acids increased linearly(P<0.05)as the U:S of dietary oils increased except for SID of fat and C18:2.The AID and SID of fat and fatty acids differed among the dietary treatments(P<0.05)except for SID of unsaturated fatty acids(UFA)and C18:2.Fitted one-slope broken-line analyses for the SID of fat,saturated fatty acids(SFA)and UFA indicated that the breakpoint for U:S of oil was 4.14(R^(2)=0.89,P<0.01),2.91(R^(2)=0.98,P<0.01)and 3.84(R^(2)=0.85,P<0.01),respectively.The determined SID of fat,C18:1,C18:2 and UFA in the mixtures was not different from the calculated SID of fat,C18:1,C18:2 and UFA.However,the determined SID of C16:0,C18:0 and SFA in the mixtures were greater than the calculated SID values(P<0.05).The abundance of Romboutsia and Turicibacter in pigs fed diet containing palm oil was greater than that in rapeseed oil treatment group,and the two bacteria were negatively correlated with SID of C16:0,C18:0 and SFA(P<0.05).Conclusions The optimal U:S for improving the utilization efficiency of mixed oil was 4.14.The SID of fat and UFA for palm oil and canola oil were additive in growing pigs,whereas the SID of SFA in the mixture of two oils was greater than the sum of the values of pure oils.Differences in fat digestibility caused by oils differing in degree of saturation has a significant impact on bacterial community in the foregut.

Response of Bacterial Community and Enzyme Activity of Greenhouse Tomato under Different Irrigation Systems

The micro-sprinkler irrigation mulched(MSM)has been suggested as a novel water-saving approach in con-trolled environment agriculture.However,the effects of microbial community structure and enzyme activity in the rhizosphere soil on crop growth under MSM remain unclear.This study conducted a randomized experimen-tal design using greenhouse tomatoes to investigate changes in bacterial community structure and enzyme activity in rhizosphere soil under different irrigation frequencies(F)and amounts(I)of MSM.Thefindings revealed that with the increase of F or I,The total count of soil bacteria in tomatoesfirst rose and then fell in terms of Opera-tional Taxonomic Units(OTUs)classification.Compared to other F,the most abundance of nitrogen and phos-phorus metabolism genes and enzyme activities were observed with a 5-day F.Moreover,the diversity of soil bacterial community structure initially rose before eventually declining with the increase of the I.Applying 1.00 Epan(cumulative evaporation of a 20 cm standard pan)under MSM helped boost the abundance of nitrogen and phosphorus metabolism functional genes in soil bacteria,ensuring higher enzyme activities related to nitro-gen,carbon,and phosphorus metabolism in the rhizosphere soil of tomatoes.Tomatoes’yield initially rose before eventually declining with the increase in F or I,whereas I had a more significant effect on yield.A 1.00%increase in I yielded a minimum of 39.24%increase in tomato yield.The study showed a positive correlation between soil bacterial community,soil enzyme activity,and greenhouse tomato yield under MSM.Considering the results comprehensively,the combined irrigation mode of F of 5 d and I of 1.00 Epan was recommended for greenhouse tomatoes under MSM.This conclusion provides theoretical support for water-saving practices and yield improve-ment in facility agriculture,especially tomato cultivation.

Plant property regulates soil bacterial community structure under altered precipitation regimes in a semi-arid desert grassland, China

Variations of precipitation have great impacts on soil carbon cycle and decomposition of soil organic matter.Soil bacteria are crucial participants in regulating these ecological processes and vulnerable to altered precipitation.Studying the impacts of altered precipitation on soil bacterial community structure can provide a novel insight into the potential impacts of altered precipitation on soil carbon cycle and carbon storage of grassland.Therefore,soil bacterial community structure under a precipitation manipulation experiment was researched in a semi-arid desert grassland in Chinese Loess Plateau.Five precipitation levels,i.e.,control,reduced and increased precipitation by 40%and 20%,respectively(referred here as CK,DP40,DP20,IP40,and IP20)were set.The results showed that soil bacterial alpha diversity and rare bacteria significantly changed with altered precipitation,but the dominant bacteria and soil bacterial beta diversity did not change,which may be ascribed to the ecological strategy of soil bacteria.The linear discriminate analysis(LDA)effect size(LEfSe)method found that major response patterns of soil bacteria to altered precipitation were resource-limited and drought-tolerant populations.In addition,increasing precipitation greatly promoted inter-species competition,while decreasing precipitation highly facilitated inter-species cooperation.These changes in species interaction can promote different distribution ratios of bacterial populations under different precipitation conditions.In structural equation model(SEM)analysis,with changes in precipitation,plant growth characteristics were found to be drivers of soil bacterial community composition,while soil properties were not.In conclusion,our results indicated that in desert grassland ecosystem,the sensitive of soil rare bacteria to altered precipitation was stronger than that of dominant taxa,which may be related to the ecological strategy of bacteria,species interaction,and precipitation-induced variations of plant growth characteristics.

Inclusion of peanut in wheat–maize rotation increases wheat yield and net return and improves soil organic carbon pool by optimizing bacterial community

Improving soil quality while achieving higher productivity is the major challenge in the agricultural industry. Wheat(Triticum aestivum L.)–maize(Zea mays L.)(W–M) rotation is the dominant planting pattern in the Huang-HuaiHai Plain and is important for food security in China. However, the soil quality is deteriorating due to the W–M rotation’s long-term, intensive, and continuous cultivation. Introducing legumes into the W–M rotation system may be an effective way to improve soil quality. In this study, we aimed to verify this hypothesis by exploring efficient planting systems(wheat–peanut(Arachis hypogaea L.)(W–P) rotation and wheat rotated with maize and peanut intercropping(W–M/P)) to achieve higher agricultural production in the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain. Using traditional W–M rotation as the control, we evaluated crop productivity, net returns, soil microorganisms(SMs), and soil organic carbon(SOC) fractions for three consecutive years. The results indicated that wheat yields were significantly increased under W–P and W–M/P(382.5–579.0 and 179.8–513.1 kg ha-1, respectively) compared with W–M. W–P and W–M/P provided significantly higher net returns(58.2 and 70.4%, respectively) than W–M. W–M/P and W–M retained the SOC stock more efficiently than W–P, increasing by 25.46–31.03 and 14.47–27.64%, respectively, in the 0–20 cm soil layer. Compared with W–M, W–M/P improved labile carbon fractions;the sensitivity index of potentially mineralizable carbon, microbial biomass carbon(MBC), and dissolved organic carbon was 31.5, 96.5–157.2, and 17.8% in 20–40, 10–40, and 10–20 cm soil layers, respectively. The bacterial community composition and bacteria function were altered as per the soil depth and planting pattern. W–M/P and W–M exhibited similar bacterial community composition and function in 0–20 and 20–40 cm soil layers. Compared with W–P, a higher abundance of functional genes, namely, contains mobile elements and stress-tolerant, and a lower abundance of genes, namely,potentially pathogenic, were observed in the 10–20 cm soil layer of W–M and the 0–20 cm soil layer of W–M/P. SOC and MBC were the main factors affecting soil bacterial communities, positively correlated with Sphingomonadales and Gemmatimonadales and negatively correlated with Blastocatellales. Organic input was the main factor affecting SOC and SMs, which exhibited feedback effects on crop productivity. In summary, W–M/P improved productivity, net returns, and SOC pool compared with traditional W–M rotation systems, and it is recommended that plant–soil–microbial interactions be considered while designing high-yield cropping systems.

Correlation between dominant bacterial community and non-volatile organic compounds during the fermentation of shrimp sauces

Shrimp sauce,one of the traditional salt-fermented food in China,has a unique flavor that is influenced by the resident microflora.The quality of salt-fermented shrimp sauce was evaluated in this work by determining the total volatile basic nitrogen(TVB-N),the amino acid nitrogen(AAN),organic acid,5’-nucleotide and free amino acids(FAA).Moreover,the dynamics of microbial diversity during processing was investigated by using high-throughput sequencing technology.The results showed that the AAN,TVB-N,organic acid,5’-nucleotide and FAA content were in range of 0.93-1.42 g/100 mL,49.91-236.27 mg/100 mL,6.65-20.68 mg/mL,3.51-6.56 mg/mL and 81.27-102.90 mg/mL.Among the microbial diversity found in the shrimp sauce,Tetragenococcus,Flavobacterium,Polaribacter,Haematospirillum and Staphylococcus were the predominant genera.Correlation analysis indicated that the bacteria Tetragenococcus and Staphylococcus were important in the formation of non-volatile compounds.Tetragenococcus positively correlated with a variety of FAAs;Staphylococcus positively correlated with 5’-nucleotides.The analysis indicated that Tetragenococcus and Staphylococcus were the core genera affecting non-volatile components.These findings indicate the dynamics of the bacterial community and non-volatile components inter-relationships during shrimp sauce fermentation and provide a theoretical basis for improving the fermentation process of shrimp sauce.

Response of soil bacterial community to biochar application in a boreal pine forest

Boreal forests commonly suff er from nitrogen defi ciency due to low rate of nitrogen mineralization.Biochar may promote soil organic matter decomposition and accelerate nitrogen mineralization.In this study,Illumina NovaSeq sequencing combined with functional annotation of prokaryotic taxa(FAPROTAX)analysis was used to investigate the eff ect of biochar pyrolysis temperatures,the amount of applied biochar,and the period since the biochar application(2-and 3-year)on soil bacterial communities.The results show that biochar pyrolysis temperatures(500℃ and 650℃)and the amount of applied biochar(0.5 kg m^(−2)and 1.0 kg m^(−2))did not change soil properties.Nevertheless,the interaction of biochar pyrolysis temperature and the amount had signifi cant eff ects on bacterial species richness and evenness(P<0.05).The application of biochar produced at 500℃ had a lower abundance of Actinobacteria and Verrucomicrobia,while that produced at 650℃ had a higher abundance of Conexibacter and Phenylobacterium.When biochar produced at 650℃ was applied,applying 0.5 kg m^(−2)had a higher abundance of Cyanobacteria,Conexibacter,and Phenylobacterium than that of 1.0 kg m^(−2)(P<0.05).Functionally,the abundance of the aromatic compound degradation group increased with the extension of application time and increase of pyrolysis temperature.The time since application played an important role in the formation of soil bacterial communities and their functional structure.Long-term studies are necessary to understand the consequence of biochar on bacterial communities in boreal forests.

Analysis on Bacterial Community Structure in Mushroom(Agaricus bisporus) Compost Using PCR-DGGE

This study aimed to investigate the bacterial communities in mushroom compost piles composed of rice straw, corn stover, and cow dung. Bacterial com- munities of samples at the beginning of composting, at the end of fermentation phase I and II were collected and analyzed using Polymerase Chain Reaction-De- naturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis （PCR-DGGE） based on 16S rDNA universal primers from Escherichia coli. A total of 56 different clone sequences were obtained （GenBank accession number： KF630598-KF630653）. They were classified into seven phyla and 42 genera. Dominant microflora during composting belonged to phylum Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Actinobacteria, with the dominant genera of Bacillus, Paenibacillus, Thermomonospora, Thermasporomyces, Pseudomonas, and Cellvibrio. Bacterial diversity （Shannon index） analysis showed that bacterial species in com- post pile composed mainly of rice straw continuously increased during composting, while those in compost pile composed mainly of corn stover firstly increased and then reduced. Principal component analysis showed that corn stover compost sam- ples at the end of fermentation phase I and phase II were clustered into one group, suggesting that corn stover composted faster than anticipated. In general, rice straw compost has higher bacterial diversity but longer composting time period, while corn stover compost has lower bacterial diversity but shorter composting time period.

Protective effect of glutamine on intestinal injury and bacterial community in rats exposed to hypobaric hypoxia environment

AIM: To investigate the protective effect of glutamine (Gln) on intestinal injury and the bacterial community in rats exposed to hypobaric hypoxia environment.

Effects of DNA extraction and universal primers on 16S rRNA gene-based DGGE analysis of a bacterial community from fish farming water

Among many reports investigating microbial diversity from environmental samples with denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), limited attention has been given to the effects of universal primers and DNA extraction on the outcome of DGGE analysis. In this study, these effects were tested with 16S rRNA gene-based DGGE on a bacterial community from farming water samples. The results indicate that the number of discernable bands in the DGGE fingerprint differed with the primer pairs used; the bands produced by 63f/518r, 341f/926r and 933f/1387r primer pairs were obviously fewer than those by 968f/1401r. Also, we found that each DNA extraction method resulted in different community profiles, reflected by the number and intensity of bands in the DGGE fingerprint. Furthermore, the main bands (theoretically representing dominant bacteria) differed with the extraction methods applied. It is therefore believed that the effects of universal primers and DNA extraction should be given more attention and carefully chosen before performing an investigation into a new environment with DGGE.

Bacterial Community Structure in a Mollisol Under Long-Term Natural Restoration, Cropping, and Bare Fallow History Estimated by PCR-DGGE

Soil microbial biomass and community structures are commonly used as indicators for soil quality and fertility. A investigation was performed to study the effects of long-term natural restoration, cropping, and bare fallow managements on the soil microbial biomass and bacterial community structures in depths of 0-10, 20 30, and 40-50 cm in a black soil （Mollisol）. Microbial biomass was estimated from chloroform fumigation-extraction, and bacterial community structures were determined by analysis of 16S rDNA using polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis （PCR- DGGE）. Experimental results showed that microbial biomass significantly declined with soil depth in the managements of restoration and cropping, but not in the bare fallow. DGGE profiles indicated that the band number in top 0-10 cm soils was less than that in depth of 20-30 or 40-50 cm. These suggested that the microbial population was high but the bacterial community structure was simple in the topsoil. Cluster and principle component analysis based on DGGE banding patterns showed that the bacterial community structure was affected by soil depth more primarily than by managements, and the succession of bacterial community as increase of soil depth has a similar tendency in the three managements. Fourteen predominating DGGE bands were excised and sequenced, in which 6 bands were identified as the taxa of Verrueomicrobia, 2 bands as Actinobacteria, 2 bands as α-Proteobacteria, and the other 4 bands as 8-Proteobacteria, Aeidobacteria, Nitrospira, and unclassified bacteria. In addition, the sequences of 11 DGGE bands were closely related to uncultured bacteria. Thus, the bacterial community structure in black soil was stable, and the predominating bacterial groups were uncultured.

Changes of Bacterial Community Structure in Copper Mine Tailings After Colonization of Reed (Phragmites communis)

Soil samples were collected from both bare and vegetated mine railings to study the changes in bacterial communities and soil chemical properties of copper mine tailings due to reed （Phragmites communis） colonization. The structures of bacterial communities were investigated using culture-independent 16S rRNA gene sequencing method. The bacterial diversity in the bare mine tailing was lower than that of the vegetated mine tailing. The former was dominated by sulfur metabolizing bacteria, whereas the latter was by nitrogen fixing bacteria. The bare mine tailing was acidic （pH = 3.78）, whereas the vegetated mine tailing was near neutral （pH ： 7.28）. The contents of organic matter, total nitrogen, and ammonium acetate-extractable potassium in vegetated mine tailings were significantly higher than those in the bare mine railings （P 〈 0.01）, whereas available phosphorus and electrical conductivity were significantly lower than those in the bare mine tailings （P 〈 0.01）. The results demonstrated that 16S rRNA gene sequencing could be successfully used to study the bacterial diversity in mine tailings. The colonization of the mine tailings by reed significantly changed the bacterial community and the chemical properties of tailings. The complex interactions between bacteria and plants deserve further investigation.

Bacterial Community and Function of Biological Activated Carbon Filter in Drinking Water Treatment

Objective It aims to investigate the changes in composition and structure of bacterial communities de-veloping on biological activated carbon （BAC） particles, and the bacterial functions. Method A pilot plant had been in service for 180 days, aiming to develop bacterial communities on acti-vated carbon naturally. After 180 days of operation, the bacterial communities were determined by dena-turing gradient gel electrophoresis （DGGE） analyses of PCR-amplified 16S rRNA genes. The study on community composition and the phylogenetic relationships of the organisms was complemented by a se-quence analysis of cloned PCR products from 16S rRNA genes. Gas chromatorgaphy-mass （GC-MS） mea-surement was used to determine organic chemical composition of inflow and outflow water on the 300th day. TOC and NH 4 ＋ -N were also tested in this experiment. Results It showed that the stable bacterial structure did not develop on BAC particles until the 9th month during running time of the BAC filter. The communities were finally dominated by Pseudomonas sp., Ba-cillus sp., Nitrospira sp., and an uncultured bacterium. Stable bacterial communities played an important role in removal of NH 4 ＋ -N and total organic carbon （TOC）. Results from gas chromatorgaphy-mass （GC-MS） showed that 36 kinds of chemicals in feed water were eliminated, and concentrations of 5 kinds of chemicals decreased. These chemicals served as nutrients for the dominant bacteria. Conclusion The findings from the study suggested that the stability of microbial structure was beneficial for improving NH 4 ＋ -N and TOC removal efficiencies. The dominant bacteria had the advantage of biode-grading a wide range of organic chemicals and NH 4 ＋ -N.

Acidophilic bacterial community reflecting pollution level of sulphide mine impacted by acid mine drainage

To reveal the impact of mining on bacterial ecology around mining area,bacterial community and geochemical characteristics about Dabaoshan Mine(Guangdong Province,China)were studied.By amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis and phylogenetic analysis,it is found that mining pollution greatly impacts the bacterial ecology and makes the habitat type of polluted environments close to acid mine drainage(AMD)ecology.The polluted environment is acidified so greatly that neutrophil and alkaliphilic microbes are massively dead and decomposed.It provided organic matters that can make Acidiphilium sp.rapidly grow and become the most bacterial species in this niche.Furthermore,Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans and Leptospirillum sp.are also present in this niche.The amount of Leptospirillum sp.is far more than that of Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans,which indicates that the concentration of toxic ions is very high.The conclusions of biogeochemical analysis and microbiological monitor are identical. Moreover,because the growth of Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans and Leptospirillum sp.depends on ferrous iron or inorganic redox sulfur compounds which can be supplied by continual AMD,their presence indicates that AMD still flows into the site.And the area is closer to the outfalls of AMD,their biomasses would be more.So the distinction of their biomasses among different areas can help us to find the effluent route of AMD.

Molecular characterization of bacterial community in aerobic granular sludge stressed by pentachlorophenol

To characterize the effects of pentachlorophenol (PCP) on the performance and microbial community of aerobic granular sludge in sequencing batch reactor (SBR), the web-based terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) and real-time PCR (RT- PCR) techniques were used to explore the bacterial community structure. When PCP increased from 0 to 50 mg/L, the COD removal rate changed little, while the ammonia removal rate dropped from 100% to 64.9%. The results of molecular characterization showed t...

Diversity surveys of soil bacterial community by cultivation-based methods and molecular fingerprinting techniques

By combining the cultivation methods with molecular fingerprinting techniques, the diversity surveys of soil bacterial community in 13 areas of China were carried out. The cultivable heterotrophic diversity was investigated by colony morphology on solid LB medium. Genetic diversity was measured as bands on denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis(DGGE) by the extraction and purification of the total soil DNA, and amplification of bacterial 16S rDNA fragments by polymerase chain reaction(PCR). The Shannon-Wiener indices of diversity(H), richness(S) and evenness(E H) were employed to estimate the diversity of soil bacterial community. The results showed that there was an obvious diversification existed in soil from the different areas. However, the genetic diversity estimated by PCR-DGGE can provide more comprehensive information on bacterial community than the cultivation-based methods. Therefore, it is suggested to combine the traditional methods with genetic fingerprinting techniques to survey and estimate soil bacterial diversity.

Effects of foraging site distances on the intestinal bacterial community compositions of the sympatric wintering Hooded Crane(Grus monacha)and Domestic Duck(Anas platyrhynchos domesticus)

Background:The composition of intestinal microflora in animals is affected by cross-species transmission.In a nature reserve,the foraging sites of waterbirds are relatively fixed,but frequently close to residential areas and can also be visited by domestic fowls.It is easy to result in the trans-species-flock dispersal of gut microbes between the wild birds and domestic fowls.The effects of the variable foraging site distances on the gut microbe structures of the waterbirds and the sympatric domestic fowls are currently unclear,and further research is required to evaluate the impacts of geographic location on cross-infection.Methods:Illumina high-throughput sequencing and bioinformatics analysis software were utilized to compare and analyze the composition of gut microbes from the fecal samples of Hooded Cranes(HC;Grus monacha)and two groups of Domestic Ducks(Anas platyrhynchos domesticus)that foraged at 1 km(ducks in near areas,D-N),and 4 km(ducks in far areas,D-F)away from the habitats of the Hooded Cranes at Shengjin Lake,China.Results:The results showed that there were significant differences in the alpha-diversity of the gut bacteria in the HC,D-N,and D-F samples under the interspecific distance factor.The dominant bacterial phyla,Cyanobacteria and Proteobacteria,showed correlations with distance for each host.The D-N group had more diverse intestinal flora than the D-F,as they were physically closer to the HC and had more indirect contact and cross-transmission of their gut microbes.More potentially pathogenic bacterial sequences,and Operational Taxonomic Units(OTUs)were found in the D-N than in HC and D-F.Conclusions:Hooded Cranes and the Domestic Duck populations at variable distances from the cranes showed significant differences in their intestinal bacteria and potentially pathogenic bacteria.The closer the foraging sites were,the easier the intestinal flora spread across species.The results provide a basis for determining the safe distance between wild birds and domestic fowls in a nature reserve.

Control of Southern Root-knot Nematodes on Tomato and Regulation of Soil Bacterial Community by Biofumigation with Zanthoxylum bungeanum Seed

Biofumigation is an environmentally friendly strategy used to control nematodes and plant diseases.The volatile oil of Zanthoxylum bungeanum has high insecticidal and antibacterial activity.However,it is not known if the seed of Z.bungeanum is a suitable material for biofumigation to control southern root-knot nematodes(SRKN)on tomato,and how it may regulate the soil bacterial community structure.We used pot experiments in the greenhouse to determine the effects of Z.bungeanum seeds on SRKN,plant growth parameters,soil physicochemical and microbial characteristics.A total of 26 volatile components,including nematicidally active substances,were identified from Z.bungeanum seeds.Z.bungeanum seed biofumigation significantly reduced the SRKN population by 88.89%and 81.55%on the 50th and 100th day after transplanting,respectively.Compared to the control,the total soluble sugar,soluble solids,soluble protein,titratable acid,root activity and the fruit yield per tomato plant increased significantly.The content of soil alkali-hydrolyzed nitrogen,available potassium and the soil enzyme activities were also significantly increased.The soil bacterial diversity and the co-occurrence network complexity were increased by Z.bungeanum seed biofumigation.Relativelymore keystone OTUs in biofumigation soil had potential plant growth-promoting capabilities.The function of Z.bungeanum seed increasing tomato production in SRKN-infected soil depends on directly killing SRKN and improving soil properties.These results indicate that Z.bungeanum seed can be used as both a nematicide and a high quality organic fertilizer in tomato production.

Response of microbial biomass and bacterial community composition to fertilization in a salt marsh in China

The effects of nitrogen （N） addition on microbial biomass, bacterial abundance, and community composition in sediment colonized by Suaeda heteroptera were examined by chloroform fumigation extraction method, real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction, and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis （DGGE） in a salt marsh located in Shuangtai Estuary, China. The sediment samples were collected from plots treated with different amounts of a single N fertilizer （urea supplied at 0.1, 0.2, 0.4 and 0.8 g/kg （nitrogen content in sediment） and different forms of N fertilizers （urea, （NH4）2SO4, and NH4NO3, each supplied at 0.2 g/kg （calculated by nitrogen）. The fertilizers were applied 1-4 times during the plant-growing season in May, luly, August, and September of 2013. Untreated plots were included as a control. The results showed that both the amount and form of N positively influenced microbial biomass carbon, microbial biomass nitrogen, and bacterial abundance. The DGGE profiles revealed that the bacterial community composition was also affected by the amount and form of N. Thus, our findings indicate that short-term N amendment increases microbial biomass and bacterial abundance, and alters the structure of bacterial community.

Phylogenetic analysis of bacterial community in deep-sea sediment from the western Pacific “warm pool”

A depth profile of bacterial community structure in one deep-sea sediment core of the western Pacific ＂warm pool＂ （WP） was investigated and compared with that in a sediment sample from the eastern Pacific （EP） by phylogenetic analysis of 16S rDNA fragments. Five bacterial 16S rDNA clone libraries were constructed, and 133 clones with different restriction fragment length polymorphism （RFLP） patterns were sequenced. A phylogenetic analysis of these sequences revealed that the bacterial diversity in a sample from the WP was more abundant than that in the EP sample. The bacterial population in the sediment core of WP was composed of eight major lineages of the domain bacteria. Among them the γ-Proteobacteria was the predominant and most diverse group in each section of WP sediment core, followed by the α-Proteobacteria. The genus Colwellia belonging to γ-Proteobacteria was predominant in this sample. The shift of bacterial communities among different sections of the WP sediment core was δ-, ε-Proteobacteria, and Cytopahga-Flexibacteria-Bacteroides （CFB） group. The ratios between them in the bacterial communities all showed inversely proportional to the depth of sediment. The sequences related to sulphate reducing bacteria （SRB） were detected in every section. The bacterial community structure in this sediment core might be related to the environmental characteristics of the surface seawater of the western Pacific WP.

Influence of proximity to the Qinghai-Tibet highway and railway on variations of soil heavy metal concentrations and bacterial community diversity on the Tibetan Plateau

An understanding of soil microbial communities is crucial in roadside soil environmental assessments.The 16S rRNA se quencing of a stressed microbial community in soil adjacent to the Qinghai-Tibet Highway(QTH)revealed that the accu mulation of heavy metals(over about 10 years)has affected the diversity of bacterial abundance and microbial community structure.The proximity of a sampling site to the QTH/Qinghai-Tibet Railway(QTR),which is effectively a measure of the density of human engineering,was the dominant factor influencing bacterial community diversity.The diversity of bacterial communities shows that 16S rRNA gene abundance decreased in relation to proximity to the QTH and QTR in both alpine wetland and meadow areas.The dominant phyla across all samples were Actinobacteria and Proteobacteria.The concentration of Cr and Cd in the soil were positively correlated with proximity to the QTH and QTR(MC/WC sam pling sites),and Ni,Co,and V were positively correlated with proximity to the QTH and QTR(MA/WA sampling sites).The results presented in this study provide an insight into the relationships among heavy metals and soil microbial commu nities,and have important implications for assessing and predicting the impacts of human-induced activities from the QTH and QTR in such an extreme and fragile environment.