title: Submerged macrophytes modify bacterial community composition in sediments in a large, shallow, freshwater lake.
abstract: Submerged aquatic macrophytes are an important part of the lacustrine ecosystem. In this study, the bacterial community compositions in the rhizosphere sediments from three kinds of submerged macrophytes (Ceratophyllum demersum, Potamogeton crispus, and Vallisneria natans) were investigated to determine whether submerged macrophytes could drive the variation of bacterial community in the eutrophic Taihu Lake, China. Molecular techniques, including terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) of PCR-amplified 16S rRNA gene and clone libraries, were employed to analyze the bacterial community compositions. Remarkable differences of the T-RFLP patterns were observed among the different samples, and the results of LIBSHUFF analysis also confirmed that the bacterial community compositions in the rhizosphere sediments of three kinds of submerged macrophytes were statistically different from that of the unvegetated sediment. Acidobacteria, Deltaproteobacteria, and Betaproteobacteria were the dominant bacterial groups in the rhizosphere sediments of Ceratophyllum demersum, Potamogeton crispus, and Vallisneria natans, respectively, accounting for 15.38%, 29.03%, and 18.00% of the total bacterial abundances. Our study demonstrated that submerged macrophytes could influence the bacterial community compositions in their rhizosphere sediments, suggesting that macrophytes have an effect on the cycling and transportation of nutrients in the freshwater lake ecosystem.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Hydrology - Water Resources and Hydraulic Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China.
authors.forename: Da-Yong
authors.initials: DY
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Chao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.forename: Yi-Meng
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Jin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.forename: Jian-Qun
authors.initials: JQ
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Ting
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Yi-Hong
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.forename: Qinglong L
authors.initials: QL
authors.lastname: Wu
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D002681:China; D017753:Ecosystem; D005618:Fresh Water / Q000382:microbiology; D060106:Lakes; D019684:Magnoliopsida / Q000382:microbiology*; D010802:Phylogeny; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D058441:Rhizosphere; D012988:Soil Microbiology
chemical_list: D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S