title: Variations in bacterial communities during foliar litter decomposition in the winter and growing seasons in an alpine forest of the eastern Tibetan Plateau.
abstract: Bacterial communities are the primary engineers during litter decomposition and related material cycling, and they can be strongly controlled by seasonal changes in temperature and other environmental factors. However, limited information is available on changes in the bacterial community from winter to the growing season as litter decomposition proceeds in cold climates. Here, we investigated the abundance and structure of bacterial communities using real-time quantitative PCR and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) during a 2-year field study of the decomposition of litter of 4 species in the winter and growing seasons of an alpine forest of the eastern Tibetan Plateau. The abundance of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene was relatively high during decomposition of cypress and birch litter in the first winter, but for the other litters 16S rRNA abundance during both winters was significantly lower than during the following growing season. A large number of bands were observed on the DGGE gels, and their intensities and number from the winter samples were lower than those from the growing season during the 2-year decomposition experiment. Eighty-nine sequences from the bands of bacteria that had been cut from the DGGE gels were affiliated with 10 distinct classes of bacteria and an unknown group. A redundancy analysis indicated that the moisture, mass loss, and elemental content (e.g., C, N, and P) of the litter significantly affected the bacterial communities. Collectively, the results suggest that uneven seasonal changes in climate regulate bacterial communities and other decomposers, thus affecting their contribution to litter decomposition processes in the alpine forest.
authors.affiliation: Long-term Research Station of Alpine Forest Ecosystems, Institute of Ecology and Forest, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, People's Republic of China. Collaborative Innovation Center of Ecological Security in the Upper Reaches of Yangtze River, Chengdu 611130, People's Republic of China.|Long-term Research Station of Alpine Forest Ecosystems, Institute of Ecology and Forest, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, People's Republic of China. Collaborative Innovation Center of Ecological Security in the Upper Reaches of Yangtze River, Chengdu 611130, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yeyi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Long-term Research Station of Alpine Forest Ecosystems, Institute of Ecology and Forest, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, People's Republic of China. Collaborative Innovation Center of Ecological Security in the Upper Reaches of Yangtze River, Chengdu 611130, People's Republic of China.|Long-term Research Station of Alpine Forest Ecosystems, Institute of Ecology and Forest, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, People's Republic of China. Collaborative Innovation Center of Ecological Security in the Upper Reaches of Yangtze River, Chengdu 611130, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Fuzhong
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Long-term Research Station of Alpine Forest Ecosystems, Institute of Ecology and Forest, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, People's Republic of China. Collaborative Innovation Center of Ecological Security in the Upper Reaches of Yangtze River, Chengdu 611130, People's Republic of China.|Long-term Research Station of Alpine Forest Ecosystems, Institute of Ecology and Forest, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, People's Republic of China. Collaborative Innovation Center of Ecological Security in the Upper Reaches of Yangtze River, Chengdu 611130, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Wanqin
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Long-term Research Station of Alpine Forest Ecosystems, Institute of Ecology and Forest, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, People's Republic of China. Collaborative Innovation Center of Ecological Security in the Upper Reaches of Yangtze River, Chengdu 611130, People's Republic of China.|Long-term Research Station of Alpine Forest Ecosystems, Institute of Ecology and Forest, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, People's Republic of China. Collaborative Innovation Center of Ecological Security in the Upper Reaches of Yangtze River, Chengdu 611130, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.affiliation: Long-term Research Station of Alpine Forest Ecosystems, Institute of Ecology and Forest, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, People's Republic of China. Collaborative Innovation Center of Ecological Security in the Upper Reaches of Yangtze River, Chengdu 611130, People's Republic of China.|Long-term Research Station of Alpine Forest Ecosystems, Institute of Ecology and Forest, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, People's Republic of China. Collaborative Innovation Center of Ecological Security in the Upper Reaches of Yangtze River, Chengdu 611130, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: He
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D065928:Forests; D010802:Phylogeny; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000378:metabolism*; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D012621:Seasons; D013696:Temperature; D018609:Tibet
chemical_list: D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
keywords: DGGE; alpine forest; bacterial community; communauté bactérienne; décomposition de la litière foliaire; foliar litter decomposition; forêt alpine; q-PCR