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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, October 2008, p. 5948-5957, Vol. 74, No. 19
0099-2240/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.00952-08
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Attached Bacterial Populations Shared by Four Species of Aquatic Angiosperms{triangledown}

Byron C. Crump* and Evamaria W. Koch

University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Horn Point Laboratory, Cambridge, Maryland

Received 25 April 2008/ Accepted 24 July 2008

Symbiotic relationships between microbes and plants are common and well studied in terrestrial ecosystems, but little is known about such relationships in aquatic environments. We compared the phylogenetic diversities of leaf- and root-attached bacteria from four species of aquatic angiosperms using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and DNA sequencing of PCR-amplified 16S rRNA genes. Plants were collected from three beds in Chesapeake Bay at sites characterized as freshwater (Vallisneria americana), brackish (Potomogeton perfoliatus and Stuckenia pectinata), and marine (Zostera marina). DGGE analyses showed that bacterial communities were very similar for replicate samples of leaves from canopy-forming plants S. pectinata and P. perfoliatus and less similar for replicate samples of leaves from meadow-forming plants Z. marina and V. americana and of roots of all species. In contrast, bacterial communities differed greatly among plant species and between leaves and roots. DNA sequencing identified 154 bacterial phylotypes, most of which were restricted to single plant species. However, 12 phylotypes were found on more than one plant species, and several of these phylotypes were abundant in clone libraries and represented the darkest bands in DGGE banding patterns. Root-attached phylotypes included relatives of sulfur-oxidizing Gammaproteobacteria and sulfate-reducing Deltaproteobacteria. Leaf-attached phylotypes included relatives of polymer-degrading Bacteroidetes and phototrophic Alphaproteobacteria. Also, leaves and roots of three plant species hosted relatives of methylotrophic Betaproteobacteria belonging to the family Methylophilaceae. These results suggest that aquatic angiosperms host specialized communities of bacteria on their surfaces, including several broadly distributed and potentially mutualistic bacterial populations.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Horn Point Laboratory, 2020 Horns Point Rd., Cambridge, MD 21613. Phone: (410) 221-8382. Fax: (410) 221-8490. E-mail: bcrump{at}hpl.umces.edu

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 1 August 2008.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, October 2008, p. 5948-5957, Vol. 74, No. 19
0099-2240/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.00952-08
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





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