Understanding diversity patterns in bacterioplankton communities from a Sub- Antarctic peatland

QUIROGA, M. V.; VALVERDE, A.; MATALONI, G.; COWAN, D.A.

Environmental Microbiology Reports

Wiley & Sons

Año: 2015

1758-2229

Bacterioplankton communities inhabiting peatlands have the potential to influence local ecosystem functions. However, most microbial ecology research in such wetlands hasbeen done in ecosystems (mostly peat soils) of the Northern Hemisphere, and very little is known of the factors that drive bacterial community assembly in other regions of theworld. In this study we used high-throughput sequencing to analyse the structure of thebacterial communities in five pools located in a sub-Antarctic peat bog (Tierra delFuego, Argentina), and tested for relationships between bacterial communities andenvironmental conditions. Bacterioplankton communities in peat bog pools werediverse and dominated by members of the Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria,Bacteroidetes and Verrucomicrobia. Community structure was largely explained bydifferences in hydrological connectivity, pH and nutrient status (ombrotrophic vsminerotrophic pools). Bacterioplankton communities in ombrotrophic pools showedphylogenetic clustering, suggesting a dominant role of deterministic processes inshaping these assemblages. These correlations between habitat characteristics andbacterial diversity patterns provide new insights into the factors regulating microbialpopulations in peatland ecosystems.