Consistent Application of Inorganic N-Fertilizer Caused Retrogressive Succession of Cyanobacteria in an Upland Agricultural Soil of China

• Published in: Microbiology (New York) 2021-07, Vol.90 (4), p.538-541
• Main Author: Sido, M. Y.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biomedical and Life Sciences; Crop production; Cyanobacteria; Fertilization; Fertilizers; Life Sciences; Medical Microbiology; Microbiology; Next-generation sequencing; rRNA 16S; Short Communications
• ISSN: 0026-2617; 1608-3237
• DOI: 10.1134/S0026261721040135

Excessive application of inorganic N-fertilizer for agricultural crop production may result in environmental pollution and ecological imbalance. Although cyanobacteria are widespread in soil, the response of cyanobacterial communities to long-term impact of chemical nitrogen fertilizers in an upland agricultural soil has been insufficiently studied. In this study, the response of a soil cyanobacterial community to long-term (20 years) N-fertilization was investigated. The treatments were four fertilization regimes (0, 200, 400, and 600 kg N ha –1 yr –1 ). The Cyanobacteria -specific 16S rRNA genes and the bacterial 16S rRNA genes were quantified. The highest cyanobacterial abundance (7.14%) was observed at N0, while the lowest (4.04%) was at N600. The taxonomic composition analysis by high-throughput sequencing revealed that N-fertilization altered the structure and diversity of the soil cyanobacterial community. Thus, these results suggested that consistent application of N-fertilization caused a retrogressive succession of soil cyanobacteria.