title: Diversity, Abundance, and Niche Differentiation of Ammonia-Oxidizing Prokaryotes in Mud Deposits of the Eastern China Marginal Seas.
abstract: The eastern China marginal seas (ECMS) are prominent examples of river-dominated ocean margins, whose most characteristic feature is the existence of isolated mud patches on sandy sediments. Ammonia-oxidizing prokaryotes play a crucial role in the nitrogen cycles of many marine environments, including marginal seas. However, few studies have attempted to address the distribution patterns of ammonia-oxidizing prokaryotes in mud deposits of these seas. The horizontal and vertical community composition and abundance of ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) and bacteria (AOB) were investigated in mud deposits of the South Yellow Sea (SYS) and the East China Sea (ECS) by using amoA clone libraries and quantitative PCR. The diversity of AOB was comparable or higher in the mud zone of SYS and lower in ECS when compared with AOA. Vertically, surface sediments had generally higher diversity of AOA and AOB than middle and bottom layers. Diversity of AOA and AOB showed significant correlation with latitude. Nitrosopumilus and Nitrosospira lineages dominated AOA and AOB communities, respectively. Both AOA and AOB assemblages exhibited greater variations across different sites than those among various depths at one site. The abundance of bacterial amoA was generally higher than that of archaeal amoA, and both of them decreased with depth. Niche differentiation, which was affected by dissolved oxygen, salinity, ammonia, and silicate (SiO[Formula: see text]), was observed between AOA and AOB and among different groups of them. The spatial distribution of AOA and AOB was significantly correlated with δ(15)NTN and SiO[Formula: see text], and nitrate and δ(13)C, respectively. Both archaeal and bacterial amoA abundance correlated strongly with SiO[Formula: see text]. This study improves our understanding of spatial distribution of AOA and AOB in ecosystems featuring oceanic mud deposits.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Marine Microbiology, College of Marine Life Sciences, Ocean University of China Qingdao, China.
authors.forename: Shaolan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Marine Chemistry Theory and Technology, Ministry of Education, Ocean University of ChinaQingdao, China; Qingdao Collaborative Innovation Center of Marine Science and Technology, Ocean University of ChinaQingdao, China; Laboratory for Marine Ecology and Environmental Science, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and TechnologyQingdao, China.
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Marine Microbiology, College of Marine Life Sciences, Ocean University of China Qingdao, China.
authors.forename: Jiwen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Marine Chemistry Theory and Technology, Ministry of Education, Ocean University of China Qingdao, China.
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Marine Chemistry Theory and Technology, Ministry of Education, Ocean University of China Qingdao, China.
authors.forename: Guiling
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Marine Chemistry Theory and Technology, Ministry of Education, Ocean University of ChinaQingdao, China; Qingdao Collaborative Innovation Center of Marine Science and Technology, Ocean University of ChinaQingdao, China; Laboratory for Marine Ecology and Environmental Science, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and TechnologyQingdao, China.
authors.forename: Meixun
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Marine Chemistry Theory and Technology, Ministry of Education, Ocean University of China Qingdao, China.
authors.forename: Zhigang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Marine Microbiology, College of Marine Life Sciences, Ocean University of China Qingdao, China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Hua
authors.initials: XH
authors.lastname: Zhang
keywords: AOA; AOB; community structures; eastern China marginal seas; mud deposits; spatial distribution