Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal community composition affected by original elevation rather than translocation along an altitudinal gradient on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.
Elucidating arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungal responses to elevation changes is critical to improve understanding of microbial function in ecosystems under global asymmetrical climate change scenarios. Here we examined AM fungal community in a two-year reciprocal translocation of vegetation-intact soil blocks along an altitudinal gradient (3,200 m to 3,800 m) in an alpine meadow on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. AM fungal spore density was significantly higher at lower elevation than at higher elevation regardless of translocation, except that this parameter was significantly increased by upward translocation from original 3,200 m to 3,400 m and 3,600 m. Seventy-three operational taxonomic units (OTUs) of AM fungi were recovered using 454-pyrosequencing of 18S rDNA sequences at a 97% sequence similarity. Original elevation, downward translocation and upward translocation did not significantly affect AM fungal OTU richness. However, with increasing altitude the OTU richness of Acaulosporaceae and Ambisporaceae increased, but the OTU richness of Gigasporaceae and Glomeraceae decreased generally. The AM fungal community composition was significantly structured by original elevation but not by downward translocation and upward translocation. Our findings highlight that compared with the short-term reciprocal translocation, original elevation is a stronger determinant in shaping AM fungal community in the Qinghai-Tibet alpine meadow.
State Key Laboratory of Mycology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.|College of Resources and Environment, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin 150030, China.
Wei
W
Yang
State Key Laboratory of Mycology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
Yong
Y
Zheng
State Key Laboratory of Mycology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
Cheng
C
Gao
Binhai Research Institute in Tianjin, Tianjin 300457, China.
Ji-Chuang
JC
Duan
Laboratory of Alpine Ecology and Biodiversity, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
Shi-Ping
SP
Wang
State Key Laboratory of Mycology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.|College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
Liang-Dong
LD
Guo
D004271:DNA, Fungal / Q000235:genetics; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000235:genetics; D065948:Grassland; D059013:Microbial Consortia / Q000502:physiology*; D038821:Mycorrhizae / Q000502:physiology*; D012988:Soil Microbiology; D018609:Tibet
D004271:DNA, Fungal; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal