Abstract:
Bacterioplankton communities inhabiting peatlands have the potential to influence local
ecosystem functions. However, most microbial ecology research in such wetlands has
been done in ecosystems (mostly peat soils) of the Northern Hemisphere, and very little
is known of the factors that drive bacterial community assembly in other regions of the
world. In this study we used high-throughput sequencing to analyse the structure of the
bacterial communities in five pools located in a sub-Antarctic peat bog (Tierra del
Fuego, Argentina), and tested for relationships between bacterial communities and
environmental conditions. Bacterioplankton communities in peat bog pools were
diverse and dominated by members of the Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria,
Bacteroidetes and Verrucomicrobia. Community structure was largely explained by
differences in hydrological connectivity, pH and nutrient status (ombrotrophic vs
minerotrophic pools). Bacterioplankton communities in ombrotrophic pools showed
phylogenetic clustering, suggesting a dominant role of deterministic processes in
shaping these assemblages. These correlations between habitat characteristics and
bacterial diversity patterns provide new insights into the factors regulating microbial
populations in peatland ecosystems.
