title: Bacterial community structure in freshwater springs infested with the invasive plant speciesHydrilla verticillata.
abstract: The phylogenetic composition and physiological profiles of bacterial communities in freshwater springs were evaluated during the blooming and non-blooming stages of the invasive plant species,Hydrilla verticillata. Community-level physiological profiles (CLPPs) and pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA gene amplicons were used to study potentialHydrillamediated shifts in the physiological potential and phylogenetic composition of the bacterial community in infested systems. The results of CLPP revealed that the microbes in theHydrillainvaded sites utilized less substrates during blooming periods than during nonblooming periods of the plant. Spearman's rank correlation analysis showed some relationships between the relative abundances of bacterial taxa and the Biolog substrate utilization pattern. The relative abundance of the identified taxa showed some striking differences based on the blooming status ofHydrillaand to a lesser extent on site variation. The relative abundance ofActinobacteria, Bacteriodetes, andVerrucomicrobiawas generally higher duringHydrillablooms, whileDeltaproteobacteriawas generally higher during non-blooming stages ofHydrilla. The detected genera also varied based on the blooming stages of the plant. Based on the findings, it appears thatHydrillaalters the phylogenetic composition and structure of the bacterial community during the blooming stage.
authors.affiliation: School of the Environment, Florida A&M University, 308-O FSH-Science Research Complex, 1515 S Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Tallahassee, FL 32307, USA.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Gordon-Bradley
authors.affiliation: School of the Environment, Florida A&M University, 308-O FSH-Science Research Complex, 1515 S Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Tallahassee, FL 32307, USA.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: School of the Environment, Florida A&M University, 308-O FSH-Science Research Complex, 1515 S Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Tallahassee, FL 32307, USA.
authors.forename: H N
authors.initials: HN
authors.lastname: Williams
keywords: 454 sequencing; Bacteria; Community structure; Hydrilla