Evidence of novel plant-species specific ammonia oxidizing bacteria clades in acidic South African fynbos soils

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Authors

Ramond, Jean-Baptiste
Lako, Joseph D.W.
Stafford, W.H.L. (William)
Tuffin, Marla I.
Cowan, Don A.

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Publisher

Wiley

Abstract

Ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) are essential in the biogeochemical cycling of nitrogen as they catalyze the rate-limiting oxidation of ammonia into nitrite. Since their first isolation in the late 19th century, chemolithoautotrophic AOBs have been identified in a wide range of natural (e.g., soils, sediments, estuarine, and freshwaters) and man created or impacted habitats (e.g., wastewater treatment plants and agricultural soils). However, little is known on the plant-species association of AOBs, particularly in the nutrient-starved fynbos terrestrial biome. In this study, we evaluated the diversity of AOBs in the plant canopy of three South African fynbos-specific plant species, namely Leucadendron xanthoconus, Leucospermum truncatulum and Leucadendron microcephalum, through the construction of amoA-gene clone libraries. Our results clearly demonstrate that plant-species specific and monophyletic AOB clades are present in fynbos canopy soils.

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Keywords

amoA-gene diversity, Ammonia oxidizers, Fynbos soil, Proteaceae family, Plant–microbe interactions

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Citation

Ramond, JB, Lako, JDW, Stafford, WHL, Tuffin, MI & Cowan, DA 2015, 'Evidence of novel plant-species specific ammonia oxidizing bacteria clades in acidic South African fynbos soils', Journal of Basic Microbiology, vol. 55, no. 8, pp. 1040-1047.