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Microbial Ecology

Microbial Metabolic Potential for Carbon Degradation and Nutrient (Nitrogen and Phosphorus) Acquisition in an Ombrotrophic Peatland

Xueju Lin, Malak M. Tfaily, Stefan J. Green, J. Megan Steinweg, Patrick Chanton, Aopeau Imvittaya, Jeffrey P. Chanton, William Cooper, Christopher Schadt, Joel E. Kostka
C. R. Lovell, Editor
Xueju Lin
aGeorgia Institute of Technology, Schools of Biology and Earth & Atmospheric Sciences, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
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Malak M. Tfaily
bFlorida State University, Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science, Tallahassee, Florida, USA
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Stefan J. Green
cDNA Services Facility, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
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J. Megan Steinweg
dOak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA
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Patrick Chanton
aGeorgia Institute of Technology, Schools of Biology and Earth & Atmospheric Sciences, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
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Aopeau Imvittaya
eFlorida State University, Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Tallahassee, Florida, USA
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Jeffrey P. Chanton
bFlorida State University, Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science, Tallahassee, Florida, USA
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William Cooper
eFlorida State University, Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Tallahassee, Florida, USA
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Christopher Schadt
dOak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA
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Joel E. Kostka
aGeorgia Institute of Technology, Schools of Biology and Earth & Atmospheric Sciences, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
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C. R. Lovell
Roles: Editor
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DOI: 10.1128/AEM.00206-14
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ABSTRACT

This study integrated metagenomic and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopic approaches to investigate microbial metabolic potential for organic matter decomposition and nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) acquisition in soils of an ombrotrophic peatland in the Marcell Experimental Forest (MEF), Minnesota, USA. This analysis revealed vertical stratification in key enzymatic pathways and taxa containing these pathways. Metagenomic analyses revealed that genes encoding laccases and dioxygenases, involved in aromatic compound degradation, declined in relative abundance with depth, while the relative abundance of genes encoding metabolism of amino sugars and all four saccharide groups increased with depth in parallel with a 50% reduction in carbohydrate content. Most Cu-oxidases were closely related to genes from Proteobacteria and Acidobacteria, and type 4 laccase-like Cu-oxidase genes were >8 times more abundant than type 3 genes, suggesting an important and overlooked role for type 4 Cu-oxidase in phenolic compound degradation. Genes associated with sulfate reduction and methanogenesis were the most abundant anaerobic respiration genes in these systems, with low levels of detection observed for genes of denitrification and Fe(III) reduction. Fermentation genes increased in relative abundance with depth and were largely affiliated with Syntrophobacter. Methylocystaceae-like small-subunit (SSU) rRNA genes, pmoA, and mmoX genes were more abundant among methanotrophs. Genes encoding N2 fixation, P uptake, and P regulons were significantly enriched in the surface peat and in comparison to other ecosystems, indicating N and P limitation. Persistence of inorganic orthophosphate throughout the peat profile in this P-limiting environment indicates that P may be bound to recalcitrant organic compounds, thus limiting P bioavailability in the subsurface. Comparative metagenomic analysis revealed a high metabolic potential for P transport and starvation, N2 fixation, and oligosaccharide degradation at MEF relative to other wetland and soil environments, consistent with the nutrient-poor and carbohydrate-rich conditions found in this Sphagnum-dominated boreal peatland.

FOOTNOTES

    • Received 18 January 2014.
    • Accepted 24 March 2014.
    • Accepted manuscript posted online 28 March 2014.
  • Supplemental material for this article may be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/AEM.00206-14.

  • Copyright © 2014, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

The authors have paid a fee to allow immediate free access to this article.

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Microbial Metabolic Potential for Carbon Degradation and Nutrient (Nitrogen and Phosphorus) Acquisition in an Ombrotrophic Peatland
Xueju Lin, Malak M. Tfaily, Stefan J. Green, J. Megan Steinweg, Patrick Chanton, Aopeau Imvittaya, Jeffrey P. Chanton, William Cooper, Christopher Schadt, Joel E. Kostka
Applied and Environmental Microbiology May 2014, 80 (11) 3531-3540; DOI: 10.1128/AEM.00206-14

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Microbial Metabolic Potential for Carbon Degradation and Nutrient (Nitrogen and Phosphorus) Acquisition in an Ombrotrophic Peatland
Xueju Lin, Malak M. Tfaily, Stefan J. Green, J. Megan Steinweg, Patrick Chanton, Aopeau Imvittaya, Jeffrey P. Chanton, William Cooper, Christopher Schadt, Joel E. Kostka
Applied and Environmental Microbiology May 2014, 80 (11) 3531-3540; DOI: 10.1128/AEM.00206-14
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