title: Ammonia-oxidizing archaea have better adaptability in oxygenated/hypoxic alternant conditions compared to ammonia-oxidizing bacteria.
abstract: Ammonia oxidation is performed by both ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) and ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB). Few studies compared the adaptability of AOA and AOB for oxygenated/hypoxic alternant conditions in water-level-fluctuating zones. Here, using qPCR and 454 high-throughput sequencing of functional amoA genes of AOA and AOB, we examined the changes of abundances, diversities, and community structures of AOA and AOB in periodically flooded soils compared to the non-flooded soils in Three Gorges Reservoir. The increased AOA operational taxonomic unit (OTU) numbers and the higher ratios of abundance (AOA:AOB) in the periodically flooded soils suggested AOA have better adaptability for oxygenated/hypoxic alternant conditions in the water-level-fluctuating zones in the Three Gorges Reservoir and probably responsible for the ammonia oxidation there. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) showed that oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) had the most significant effect on the community distribution of AOA (p < 0.01). Pearson analysis also indicated that ORP was the most important factor influencing the abundances and diversities of ammonia-oxidizing microbes. ORP was significantly negatively correlated with AOA OTU numbers (p < 0.05), ratio of OTU numbers (AOA:AOB) (p < 0.01), and ratio of amoA gene abundances (AOA:AOB) (p < 0.05). ORP was also significantly positively correlated with AOB abundance (p < 0.05).
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Shuai
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China. blhu@zju.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Baolan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Zhanfei
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Urban Construction and Environmental Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Guangming
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Ping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Urban Construction and Environmental Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing, China. fangfangcq@cqu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Fang
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Fang
mesh_terms: D000220:Adaptation, Biological; D000332:Aerobiosis; D000641:Ammonia / Q000378:metabolism*; D000693:Anaerobiosis; D001105:Archaea / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D019641:DNA, Archaeal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D014644:Genetic Variation; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D010802:Phylogeny; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D012988:Soil Microbiology
chemical_list: D019641:DNA, Archaeal; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D000641:Ammonia
keywords: Ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA); Ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB); Oxygenated/hypoxic alternant conditions; Three Gorges Reservoir; Water-level-fluctuating zones