title: Assessing the effect of litter species on the dynamic of bacterial and fungal communities during leaf decomposition in microcosm by molecular techniques.
abstract: Although bacteria and fungi are well-known to be decomposers of leaf litter, few studies have examined their compositions and diversities during the decomposition process in tropical stream water. Xishuangbanna is a tropical region preserving one of the highest floristic diversity areas in China. In this study, leaf litter of four dominant plant species in Xishuangbanna was incubated in stream water for 42 days during which samples were taken regularly. Following DNA extraction, PCR-DGGE (denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis) and clone-sequencing analyses were performed using bacterial and fungal specific primers. Leaf species have slightly influences on bacterial community rather than fungal community. The richness and diversity of bacteria was higher than that of fungi, which increased towards the end of the 42-day-incubation. The bacterial community was initially more specific upon the type of leaves and gradually became similar at the later stage of decomposition with alpha-proteobacteria as major component. Sequences affiliated to methanotrophs were obtained that indicates potentially occurrence of methane oxidation and methanogenesis. For the fungal community, sequences affiliated to Aspergillus were predominant at the beginning and then shifted to Pleosporales. Our results suggest that the microorganisms colonizing leaf bioﬁlm in tropical stream water were mostly generalists that could exploit the resources of leaves of various species equally well.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, China ; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China ; Institute of Agricultural Engineering Anhui Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hefei, Anhui, China.
authors.forename: Wenjing
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, China ; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Lingling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, China.
authors.forename: Onchim
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, China ; Department of Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Yunnan University, Kunming, Yunnan, China.
authors.forename: Jiao
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Limnology, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Stechlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Casper
authors.affiliation: College of Forest Resources and Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China ; Institute for Tropical Ecosystem Studies, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico, United States of America.
authors.forename: Xiaoming
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zou
mesh_terms: D020561:Alphaproteobacteria / Q000235:genetics; D001230:Aspergillus / Q000235:genetics; D001419:Bacteria / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D001483:Base Sequence; D044822:Biodiversity; D018441:Biofilms; D002244:Carbon / Q000032:analysis; D002681:China; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D058645:Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis; D005658:Fungi / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000032:analysis; D010758:Phosphorus / Q000032:analysis; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000382:microbiology*; D045483:Rivers / Q000382:microbiology*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013054:Spectrophotometry, Atomic; D013696:Temperature; D014329:Tropical Climate
chemical_list: D010758:Phosphorus; D002244:Carbon; D009584:Nitrogen