This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Reprints and Permissions Copyright Information Books from ASM Press MicrobeWorld Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Burke, D. J. Articles by Hahn, D. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Burke, D. J. Articles by Hahn, D. Agricola Articles by Burke, D. J. Articles by Hahn, D.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, March 2002, p. 1157-1164, Vol. 68, No. 3
0099-2240/02/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.68.3.1157-1164.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Interactions among Plant Species and Microorganisms in Salt Marsh Sediments

Department of Biological Sciences, Rutgers University, Newark, New Jersey 07102-1811,¹ Department of Chemical Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, New Jersey 07102²

Received 24 August 2001/ Accepted 7 December 2001

The interactions among Spartina patens and sediment microbial populations and the interactions among Phragmites australis and sediment microbial populations were studied at monotypic sites in Piermont Marsh, a salt marsh of the Hudson River north of New York, N.Y., at key times during the growing season. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) effectively colonized S. patens but not P. australis, and there were seasonal increases and decreases that coincided with plant growth and senescence (17 and 6% of the S. patens root length were colonized, respectively). In sediment samples from the Spartina site, the microbial community and specific bacterial populations were at least twice as large in terms of number and biomass as the microbial community and specific bacterial populations in sediment samples from the Phragmites site, and peak values occurred during reproduction. Members of the domain Bacteria, especially members of the -, -, and -subdivisions of the Proteobacteria, were the most abundant organisms at both sites throughout the growing season. The populations were generally more dynamic in samples from the Spartina site than in samples from the Phragmites site. No differences between the two sites and no differences during the growing season were observed when restriction fragment length polymorphism analyses of nifH amplicons were performed in an attempt to detect shifts in the diversity of nitrogen-fixing bacteria. Differences were observed only in the patterns generated by PCR or reverse transcription-PCR for samples from the Spartina site, suggesting that there were differences in the overall and active populations of nitrogen-fixing bacteria. Regression analyses indicated that there was a positive interaction between members of the -subdivision of the Proteobacteria and root biomass but not between members of the -subdivision of the Proteobacteria and macroorganic matter at both sites. In samples from the Spartina site, there were indications that there were bacterium-fungus interactions since populations of members of the -subdivision of the Proteobacteria were negatively associated with AMF colonization and populations of members of the -subdivision of the Proteobacteria were positively associated with AMF colonization.

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Welsh, A., Burke, D. J., Hahn, D. (2007). Analysis of Nitrogen-Fixing Members of the {varepsilon} Subclass of Proteobacteria in Salt Marsh Sediments. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 73: 7747-7752 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Burgmann, H., Widmer, F., Von Sigler, W., Zeyer, J. (2004). New Molecular Screening Tools for Analysis of Free-Living Diazotrophs in Soil. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 70: 240-247 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Burgmann, H., Widmer, F., Sigler, W. V., Zeyer, J. (2003). mRNA Extraction and Reverse Transcription-PCR Protocol for Detection of nifH Gene Expression by Azotobacter vinelandii in Soil. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 69: 1928-1935 [Abstract] [Full Text]