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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, April 2001, p. 1902-1910, Vol. 67, No. 4
0099-2240/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/AEM.67.4.1902-1910.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Phylogenetic and Morphological Diversity of Cyanobacteria in Soil Desert Crusts from the Colorado Plateau

Ferran Garcia-Pichel,1,2,* Alejandro López-Cortés,2,3 and Ulrich Nübel2,4

Microbiology Department, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 852871; The Center for Biological Research of the Northwest, CIBNOR, La Paz, 23090, Baja California Sur, Mexico3; and Max Planck Institut for Marine Microbiology, 28359 Bremen,2 and Deutsche Sammlung von Mikroorganismen und Zellkulturen, 38126 Braunschweig,4 Germany

Received 16 August 2000/Accepted 12 January 2001

We compared the community structures of cyanobacteria in four biological desert crusts from Utah's Colorado Plateau developing on different substrata. We analyzed natural samples, cultures, and cyanobacterial filaments or colonies retrieved by micromanipulation from field samples using microscopy, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis, and sequencing of 16S rRNA genes. While microscopic analyses apparently underestimated the biodiversity of thin filamentous cyanobacteria, molecular analyses failed to retrieve signals for otherwise conspicuous heterocystous cyanobacteria with thick sheaths. The diversity found in desert crusts was underrepresented in currently available nucleotide sequence databases, and several novel phylogenetic clusters could be identified. Morphotypes fitting the description of Microcoleus vaginatus Gomont, dominant in most samples, corresponded to a tight phylogenetic cluster of probable cosmopolitan distribution, which was well differentiated from other cyanobacteria traditionally classified within the same genus. A new, diverse phylogenetic cluster, named "Xeronema," grouped a series of thin filamentous Phormidium-like cyanobacteria. These were also ubiquitous in our samples and probably correspond to various botanical Phormidium and Schizothrix spp., but they are phylogenetically distant from thin filamentous cyanobacteria from other environments. Significant differences in community structure were found among soil types, indicating that soil characteristics may select for specific cyanobacteria. Gypsum crusts were most deviant from the rest, while sandy, silt, and shale crusts were relatively more similar among themselves.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Microbiology Department, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-2701. Phone: (480) 727-7534. Fax: (480) 965-0098. E-mail: ferran{at}asu.edu.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, April 2001, p. 1902-1910, Vol. 67, No. 4
0099-2240/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/AEM.67.4.1902-1910.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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