The role of species turnover in structuring bacterial communities in a local scale in the cactus rhizosphere

• Published in: Plant and soil 2018-04, Vol.425 (1/2), p.101-112
• Main Authors: Kavamura, Vanessa Nessner, Taketani, Rodrigo Gouvêa, Ferreira, Clederson, de Melo, Itamar Soares, Mendes, Rodrigo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Amino acids; Analysis; Assembly; Bacteria; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Cacti; Carbohydrates; Cereus jamacaru; Communities; Deoxyribonucleic acid; Dispersal; DNA; DNA sequencing; Drought; Dry season; Ecology; Ecosystems; Functional groups; Life Sciences; Metabolism; Microbiomes; Microorganisms; Moisture content; Physiological aspects; Plant Physiology; Plant Sciences; Plants (botany); Precipitation; Protein metabolism; Protein turnover; Rainy season; Regular Article; Relative abundance; Rhizosphere; Rhizosphere microorganisms; Ribonucleic acid; RNA; Seasons; Soil chemistry; Soil Science & Conservation; Soil water; Water content
• ISSN: 0032-079X; 1573-5036
• DOI: 10.1007/s11104-018-3570-4

Background and aims Cereus jamacaru is a native cactus in the semiarid biome caatinga able to withstand long periods of drought. Here, we studied the rhizosphere microbiome of this cactus to understand how precipitation affects the assembly of bacterial communities from the taxonomical and functional perspectives. Methods We selected three C. jamacaru plants in the caatinga biome, sampled the rhizosphere soil from the same plants during rainy and diy seasons and performed shotgun sequencing from total DNA isolated from rhizosphere using Ion Torrent technology. Results Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria and Proteobacteria showed increase in relative abundance during the rainy season when compared to diy season. Five major functional groups were significantly different, including differences in amino acids and derivatives, carbohydrates, protein metabolism, respiration, and RNA metabolism. Taxonomically, the assembly of bacterial communities follows a neutral model. Conclusions The assembly of bacterial communities in the rhizosphere of C. jamacaru is affected by precipitation resulting in different taxonomical and functional community patterns during dry and rainy seasons. We attribute these differences on rhizosphere communities composition to dispersal limitation of microorganisms caused by low pore connectivity due to low water content in the soil, which leads to spatially isolate communities during the dry season.