title: Salinity and bacterial diversity: to what extent does the concentration of salt affect the bacterial community in a saline soil?
abstract: In this study, the evaluation of soil characteristics was coupled with a pyrosequencing analysis of the V2-V3 16S rRNA gene region in order to investigate the bacterial community structure and diversity in the A horizon of a natural saline soil located in Sicily (Italy). The main aim of the research was to assess the organisation and diversity of microbial taxa using a spatial scale that revealed physical and chemical heterogeneity of the habitat under investigation. The results provided information on the type of distribution of different bacterial groups as a function of spatial gradients of soil salinity and pH. The analysis of bacterial 16S rRNA showed differences in bacterial composition and diversity due to a variable salt concentration in the soil. The bacterial community showed a statistically significant spatial variability. Some bacterial phyla appeared spread in the whole area, whatever the salinity gradient. It emerged therefore that a patchy saline soil can not contain just a single microbial community selected to withstand extreme osmotic phenomena, but many communities that can be variously correlated to one or more environmental parameters. Sequences have been deposited to the SRA database and can be accessed on ID Project PRJNA241061.
authors.affiliation: Consiglio per la Ricerca e la Sperimentazione in Agricoltura, Centro di Ricerca per lo studio delle relazioni tra Pianta e Suolo, Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: Loredana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Canfora
authors.affiliation: Consiglio per la Ricerca e la Sperimentazione in Agricoltura, Centro di Ricerca per lo studio delle relazioni tra Pianta e Suolo, Roma, Italy; Department of Biology, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bacci
authors.affiliation: Consiglio per la Ricerca e la Sperimentazione in Agricoltura, Centro di Ricerca per lo studio delle relazioni tra Pianta e Suolo, Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: Flavia
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pinzari
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie e Forestali, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Palermo, Italy.
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lo Papa
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie e Forestali, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Palermo, Italy.
authors.forename: Carmelo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dazzi
authors.affiliation: Consiglio per la Ricerca e la Sperimentazione in Agricoltura, Centro di Ricerca per lo studio delle relazioni tra Pianta e Suolo, Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Benedetti
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification* / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics; D010802:Phylogeny; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D054712:Salinity; D012492:Salts / Q000494:pharmacology*; D012988:Soil Microbiology
chemical_list: D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; D012492:Salts