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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, October 2008, p. 5997-6005, Vol. 74, No. 19
0099-2240/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.00441-08
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Changes in Bacterial Denitrifier Community Abundance over Time in an Agricultural Field and Their Relationship with Denitrification Activity{triangledown}

Catherine E. Dandie,1,{dagger} David L. Burton,2 Bernie J. Zebarth,1 Sherri L. Henderson,1 Jack T. Trevors,3 and Claudia Goyer1*

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Potato Research Centre, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada E3B 4Z7,1 Nova Scotia Agricultural College, Department of Environmental Sciences, Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada B2N 5E3,2 University of Guelph, Department of Environmental Biology, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W13

Received 22 February 2008/ Accepted 29 July 2008

This study measured total bacterial and denitrifier community abundances over time in an agricultural soil cropped to potatoes (Solanum tuberosum L.) by using quantitative PCR. Samples were collected on 10 dates from spring to autumn and from three spatial locations: in the potato "hill" between plants (H), close to the plant (Hp), and in the "furrow" (F). The denitrification rates, N2O emissions, and environmental parameters were also measured. Changes in denitrifier abundance over time and spatial location were small (1.7- to 2.7-fold for the nirK, nosZ, and cnorBB guilds), whereas the cnorBP community (Pseudomonas mandelii and closely related spp.) showed an ~4.6-fold change. The seasonal patterns of denitrifier gene numbers varied with the specific community: lower nosZ gene numbers in April and May than in June and July, higher cnorBP gene numbers in May and June than in March and April and September and November, higher nirK gene numbers in early spring than in late autumn, and no change in cnorBB gene numbers. Gene numbers were higher for the Hp than the H location for the nosZ and nirK communities and for the cnorBP community on individual dates, presumably indicating an effect of the plant on denitrifier abundance. Higher cnorBP gene numbers for the H location than the F location and for nosZ and cnorBB on individual dates reflect the effect of spatial location on abundance. Denitrifier abundance changes were not related to any environmental parameter, although a weak relationship exists between cnorBP gene numbers, extractable organic carbon values, and temperature. Denitrification and N2O emissions were mostly regulated by inorganic nitrogen availability and water-filled pore space but were uncoupled from denitrifier community abundances measured in this system.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Potato Research Centre, P.O. Box 20280, Fredericton, NB E3B 4Z7, Canada. Phone: (506) 452-4851. Fax: (506) 452-3316. E-mail: goyercm{at}agr.gc.ca

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 8 August 2008.

{dagger} Present address: University of South Australia, Centre for Environmental Risk Assessment and Remediation, Mawson Lakes, South Australia 5095, Australia.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, October 2008, p. 5997-6005, Vol. 74, No. 19
0099-2240/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.00441-08
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Saleh-Lakha, S., Shannon, K. E., Henderson, S. L., Zebarth, B. J., Burton, D. L., Goyer, C., Trevors, J. T. (2009). Effect of Nitrate and Acetylene on nirS, cnorB, and nosZ Expression and Denitrification Activity in Pseudomonas mandelii. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 75: 5082-5087 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


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