Modern analogues and the early history of microbial life

Revealing the geological history of microbial life is very challenging. Microbes rarely are preserved with morphological fidelity, and even when they are, morphology is a poor guide to phylogeny and metabolism. Biological studies of environments considered analogous to those of paleobiological interest on the ancient Earth can inform interpretations and suggest new approaches. This paper reviews recent advances in our understanding of the biological diversity of two environments relevant to Archean paleobiology: those of extreme acidity and temperature (the Mt. Hood and White Island volcanoes), and high salinity (living stromatolites in Shark Bay). The combination of traditional microbial isolation with the use of modern molecular techniques has revealed that the microbial communities in these environments are much more diverse than originally thought. Through the extraction of whole microbial community DNA, enzymatic amplification of evolutionarily conserved genes, and cloning and sequencing of these genes, more specific and informed inferences concerning functional complexity in these extreme environments have now been made. Studies of the modern stromatolites have demonstrated that they have a very diverse range of micoorganisms, and contrary to previous interpretations, cyanobacteria are not the most abundant microbes present. In addition, many of the microorganisms are unique with no known close relatives, and these microorganisms may also possess novel physiologies vital to the integrity and persistence of stromatolites through space and time. Microbes in the volcanoes studied are present ubiquitously and include geochemically significant sulfur- and iron-cycling taxa. The findings from the studies reviewed here suggest that the Archean biota may have been functionally diverse and much more complex than has yet been revealed. The importance of studying modern analogues is stressed in that the biogeochemical processes occurring in these communities leave morphological, mineralogical, lipid and isotopic signals that could be sought in the rock record.     

Phospholipid fatty acids analysis of the vertical distribution of microbial communities in eutrophic lake sediments

Vertical distribution of microbial communities in a eutrophic lake sediments of Lake Xuanwu was quantified by phospholipid fatty acids analysis and multivariate statistical analysis was employed to interprete the data. Principle component analysis of sediment characteristics parameters, including total nitrogen, total phosphorus, organic matters and pH produced clustering of sampling sites for two distinct groups. These groups corresponded with the two sampling stations and the levels of nutrient enrichment. Total phospholipid fatty acids concentration, which is indicative of microbial biomass, reduced with depth, however, the relative percentage of anaerobic prokaryotes increased. To assess changes of microbial community along depth, phospholipid fatty acids compositions were analyzed by cluster analysis. Distinct clusters were observed in different sampling stations. Canonical correspondence analysis was carried out to infer the relationship between sediment characteristics and microbial communities. Phospholipid fatty acids samples collected at the same sampling site clustered together. Canonical correspondence analysis revealed that the environmental parameter with the greatest bearing on the phospholipid fatty acids profiles was pH. This study proved the successful application of phospholipid fatty acids and multivariate analysis to investigate the relationship between environment factors and microbial community composition.     

Hydrogen-isotopic variability in fatty acids from Yellowstone National Park hot spring microbial communities

We report the abundances and hydrogen-isotopic compositions (D/H ratios) of fatty acids extracted from hot-spring microbial mats in Yellowstone National Park. The terrestrial hydrothermal environment provides a useful system for studying D/H fractionations because the numerous microbial communities in and around the springs are visually distinct, separable, and less complex than those in many other aquatic environments. D/H fractionations between lipids and water ranged from −374‰ to +41‰ and showed systematic variations between different types of microbial communities. Lipids produced by chemoautotrophic hyperthermophilic bacteria, such as icosenoic acid (20:1), generally exhibited the largest and most variable fractionations from water (−374‰ to −165‰). This was in contrast to lipids characteristic of heterotrophs, such as branched, odd chain-length fatty acids, which had the smallest fractionations (−163‰ to +41‰). Mats dominated by photoautotrophs exhibited intermediate fractionations similar in magnitude to those expressed by higher plants. These data support the hypothesis that variations in lipid D/H are strongly influenced by central metabolic pathways. Shifts in the isotopic compositions of individual fatty acids across known ecological boundaries show that the isotopic signature of specific metabolisms can be recognized in modern environmental samples, and potentially recorded in ancient ones. Considering all sampled springs, the total range in D/H ratios is similar to that observed in marine sediments, suggesting that the trends observed here are not exclusive to the hydrothermal environment.     

Early diagenesis of fatty acids in lacustrine sediments—III. Changes in fatty acid composition in the sediments from a brackish water lake

A 3-m sediment core taken from Lake Suigetsu, in which a shift from fresh to brackish water occurred about three hundred years ago, has been examined for variation with depth of organic carbon and fatty acids. From the difference in total amounts of sulphur between sediments under fresh and brackish water environments, the surface sediments above approximately 35 cm depth were deduced to be accumulated under a brackish water environment. The total contents of organic carbon and fatty acids, and percentage composition of fatty acids gave discontinuous profiles above and below the 35–40 cm sediment layer. At a depth of 12.5 cm, the distribution in chain length of the fatty acids changed from a unimodal (the predominance of C₁₂-C₁₈ over C₂₀-C₃₄) to a bimodal pattern, which was mirrored by the composition diversity index (CDI).Although the fatty acids in the surface sediments (0–40 cm) from Lake Suigetsu seemed to suffer milder degradation through microbial activity than those in a core (0–150 cm) from Lake Suwa, a freshwater eutrophic lake, both lacustrine sediments showed similar trends in the alteration of fatty acid composition with depth.     

Lipid biomarkers and carbon-isotopes of modern travertine deposits (Yellowstone National Park, USA): Implications for biogeochemical dynamics in hot-spring systems

Lipid biomarkers and ¹³C fractionation patterns were used to understand the dynamics of carbon cycling during microbial metabolisms in different environments of travertine precipitation (called facies) at Spring AT-1 on Angel Terrace in the Mammoth Hot Springs complex of Yellowstone National Park, USA. Microbial mats that encrust travertine deposits were collected for analyses of lipid biomarkers and carbon isotopes along the continuous drainage outflow system of Spring AT-1. The spring water exhibits a continuous temperature drop from 71°C in the vent at top to 24°C in the distal slope at bottom. Phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA) and glycolipid fatty acids (GLFA) exhibit distinctly different compositions in each of the facies, which are consistent with partitioning of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene sequences in the Spring AT-1 travertine facies (Fouke et al., 2003).The δ¹³C composition of total biomass within the microbial mats decreases from −16.1‰ in the vent to −23.5‰ in the distal slope. However, lower values occur in the pond (−26.0‰) and the proximal slope (−28.0‰) between the vent and the distal slope. Isotopic compositions of PLFA and GLFA have variations similar to those of total biomass. The average δ¹³C values of PLFA are −12.4 ± 5.2‰ (n = 10 individual fatty acids, same below) in the vent, −33.0 ± 3.1‰ (n = 11) in the pond, −33.7 ± 3.8‰ (n = 16) in the proximal slope, and −22.4 ± 3.4‰ (n = 10) in the distal slope; the average δ¹³C values of GLFA are −19.6 ± 3.0‰ (n = 3) in the vent, −30.4 ± 4.7‰ (n = 8) in the pond, −36.9 ± 2.8‰ (n = 12) in the proximal slope, and −27.9 ± 3.1‰ (n = 13) in the distal slope. In particular, fatty acids in the vent are enriched in ¹³C relative to the total biomass, which is consistent with the notion that the biosynthetic pathways of the extant microbial community in the vent may be dominated by Aquificales using the reversed tricarboxylic acid cycle. Fractionations between fatty acids and total biomass in the pond, the proximal slope and the distal slope suggest the involvement of other biosynthetic pathways for CO₂ fixation by extant microbial populations. The results indicate that lipid biomarkers provide valuable information on the changing diversity and activity of microbial communities in different depositional environments. Carbon-isotope fractionations, on the other hand, can provide insight into the operating biosynthetic pathways associated with different organisms in the changing environment. This integrated approach may serve as a powerful tool for identifying functional metabolism within a community and identify shifts in microbial community structure in modern hot-spring systems.     

Effect of humic acids on numbers and activities of micro-organisms within physiological groups

The incorporation of humic acid fractions in media designed for the enumeration of soil micro-organisms belonging to specific physiological groups was found to result for some groups in appreciably higher counts. It is suggested that by influencing the enzyme systems of certain micro-organisms, humic compounds may affect the range of substrates which they can utilize. The effect could have implications on the activity of organisms in environments in which humic substances are normally present, such as soils and natural waters.     

Structural diversity of diether lipids in carbonate chimneys at the Lost City Hydrothermal Field

The Lost City Hydrothermal Field hosts a distinctive microbial ecosystem that is supported by the products of serpentinization reactions. The calcium carbonate chimneys here contain abundant isoprenoidal and non-isoprenoidal ether lipids, the structural diversity of which is similar to that found in carbonate crusts at cold seeps where anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) is the dominant biogeochemical process. The microbial community at Lost City includes abundant archaea, which largely belong to a single phylotype within the methanogenic Methanosarcinales. Isoprenoidal diethers derived from these archaea have polar head groups comprising phosphatidylglycerol or monoglycosyl moieties, although many isoprenoidal diethers detected in these carbonates lack head groups.The non-isoprenoidal diether lipids at Lost City are largely glycolipids. Glycosydic non-isoprenoidal diethers have not previously been reported from any environments or bacterial isolates. Glycolipids are common in archaea where they contain isoprenoidal hydrocarbon cores ether linked to glycerol. Glycolipids also occur in some bacteria and in these non-isoprenoidal fatty acid chains are ester linked to glycerol. However, the glycosylated non-isoprenoidal diether lipids at Lost City contain a previously undetected combination of archaeal and bacterial traits that might be an adaptive response to the vent environment. We hypothesize that utilization of glycosyl head groups instead of phosphatidyl head groups is a strategy for conservation of phosphate by organisms growing in fluids low in this essential nutrient.     

Mineral-microbe interactions: a review

The studies of mineral-microbe interactions lie at the heart of the emerging field of Geomicrobiology, as minerals and rocks are the most fundamental earth materials with which microbes interact at all scales. Microbes have been found in a number of the Earth’s extreme environments and beyond. In spite of the diverse geological environments in which microbes are found and diverse approaches taken to study them, a common thread, mineral-microbe interactions, connects all these environments and experimental approaches under the same umbrella, i.e., Geomicrobiology. Minerals and rocks provide microbes with nutrients and living habitats, and microbes impact rock and mineral weathering and diagenesis rates through their effects on mineral solubility and speciation. Given a rapid growth of research in this area in the last two decades, it is not possible to provide a comprehensive review on the topic. This review paper focuses on three area, i.e., microbial dissolution of minerals, microbial formation of minerals, and certain techniques to study mineral-microbe interactions. Under the first area, three subjects are reviewed; they include siderophores as important agents in promoting mineral dissolution, microbial oxidation of reduced minerals (acid mine drainage and microbial leaching of ores), and microbial reduction of oxidized minerals. Under the second topic, both biologically controlled and induced mineralizations are reviewed with a special focus on microbially induced mineralization (microbial surface mediated mineral precipitation and microbial precipitation of carbonates). Under the topic of characterization, the focus is on transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and electron energy loss spectroscopy. It is the author’s hope that this review will promote more focused research on mineral-microbe interactions and encourage more collaboration between microbiologists and mineralogists.     

A comparison of sediment microbial communities associated with<Emphasis Type="Italic">Phragmites australis</Emphasis> and<Emphasis Type="Italic">Spartina alterniflora</Emphasis> in two brackish wetlands of New Jersey

The extensive spread ofPhragmites australis throughout brackish marshes on the East Coast of the United States is a major factor governing management and restoration decisions because it is assumed that biogeochemical functions are altered by the invasion. Microbial activity is important in providing wetland biogeochemical functions such as carbon and nitrogen cycling, but there is little known about sediment microbial communities inPhragmites marshes. Microbial populations associated with invasivePhragmites vegetation and with native salt marsh cordgrass,Spartina alterniflora, may differ in the relative abundance of microbial taxa (community structure) and in the ability of this biota to decompose organic substrates (community biogeochemical function). This study compares sediment microbial communities associated withPhragmites andSpartina vegetation in an undisturbed brackish marsh near Tuckerton, New Jersey (MUL), and in a brackish marsh in the anthropogenically affected Hackensack meadowlands (SMC). We use phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analysis and enzymataic activity to profile sediment microbial communities associated with both plants in each site. Sediment analyses include bulk density, total organic matter, and root biomass. PLFA profiles indicate that the microbial communities differ between sites with the undisturbed site exhibiting greater fatty acid richness (62 PLFA recovered from MUL versus 38 from SMC). Activity of the 5 enzymes analyzed (β-glucosidase, acid phosphatase, chitobiase, and 2 oxidases) was higher in the undisturbed site. Differences between vegetation species as measured by Principal Components Analysis were significantly greater at the undisturbed MUL site than at SMC, and patterns of enzyme activity and PLFAs did not correspond to patterns of root biomass. We suggest that in natural wetland sediments, macrophyte rhizosphere effects influence the community composition of sediment microbial populations. Physical and chemical site disturbances may impose limits on these rhizosphere effects, decreasing sediment microbial diversity and potentially, microbial biogeochemical functions.     

Lipid biomarker analysis of cyanobacteria-dominated microbial mats in meltwater ponds on the McMurdo Ice Shelf,Antarctica

The lipid biomarker composition of microbial mat communities from three meltwater ponds from the McMurdo Ice Shelf, Antarctica, was investigated for the first time. Hydrocarbons, ether-linked components, fatty acids (FAs), wax esters, hopanols and sterols from Fresh, Orange and Salt Ponds were analysed. The dominance of cyanobacteria and the presence of bacterial sulfate reducers were confirmed using signature FAs in all three mats. Wax ester analysis suggested the presence of Chloroflexus spp. The dominance of short chain hydrocarbons, wax esters and FAs indicated that microorganisms are the major source of organic matter in these meltwater ponds. A variety of sterols were present in different relative abundances. The greatest diversity of sterols was in Salt Pond, followed by Fresh Pond, which was attributed to differences in the present eukaryotic diversity. Lipid profiles of the three communities were similar despite the presence of a salinity gradient. Analysis of lipid biomarkers allowed the creation of profiles for these unique Antarctic cryo-ecosystems. This will assist in the comparison of present and past microbial communities and in the monitoring of Antarctic biodiversity in response to global climate change and other environmental perturbations.     

青藏高原多年冻土区土壤需氧可培养细菌多样性及群落功能研究

以青藏高原腹地不同植被类型多年冻土区土壤细菌为研究对象, 分析了可培养菌群数量、 多样性和生理代谢功能的变化及其与环境因子间的关系. 结果显示: 从沼泽草甸到高寒荒漠, 土壤水分、 总碳、 总氮含量逐渐降低, pH值升高, 可培养细菌数量在2.97×10⁶~2.88×10⁷ CFU·g^-1, 与含水量、 总碳、 总氮显著正相关; Actinobacteria(51.4%)和γ-Proteobacteria(31.7%)为优势菌群, α-protebacteria仅在沼泽草甸中有分布, β-protebacteria、 Bacterioidetes丰度与含水量、 总碳、 总氮间显著正相关; 自沼泽到荒漠, 菌群代谢活性和Shannon功能多样性指数降低, pH与Shannon指数显著负相关, 继氨基酸类碳源之后, 多聚物逐渐成为被细菌群落主要利用的碳源种类. 研究表明, 伴随冻土退化地上植被逆向演替的过程, 青藏高原多年冻土地下土壤微生物群落丰度、 遗传和代谢功能多样性均发生了不同程度的响应.     

离心操作对BIOLOG法测定微生物群落功能多样性的影响

陆地生态系统的有机质分解是地球系统碳循环的重要环节,但目前人们对这一过程的认知程度尚待提高,原因之一是对植物凋落物分解时微生物群落功能多样性的变化缺乏系统认识.如能将BIOLOG微平板法引入植物凋落物降解初期的研究中,将弥补这一重要环节的缺失.但当前对如何在降解初期研究中应用这一方法、尤其是对于在预处理过程中是否应进行离心操作并无定论.为此,笔者选用北京桦树林区凋落物的淋洗液为接种液,考察离心操作对BIOLOG微平板法测定结果的影响.研究发现:离心操作能减小培养液的浊度(吸光度减小0.13)、降低溶液颜色对微孔显色程度的干扰,但也会导致测得的微生物群落数量减少(平均颜色变化率可降低约0.4);样品中微生物群落数量越小,群落功能多样性受影响的程度则越大.因此,在选择是否进行离心操作时,需针对具体的研究对象综合选择.     

用微生物对单一碳源利用方法探讨重金属在城市土壤中积累的环境效应

Biolog研究表明，英国阿伯丁市城市土壤的微生物群落结构显著有别于农村土壤，并使微生物对碳源的消耗量增加，消耗速度加快。城市土壤中不仅重金属Cu,Pb,Zn,Ni的含量明显高于农村土壤，而且其化学形态的主成分分析表明，有效态Pb,Zn,Cu及有机态Ni和Cu是导致城市土壤区分于农村土壤的主要因子。相关性分析表明，Biolog的这种变化规律与重金属的上述化学形态密切相关；典型变量分析表明，重金属对城市土壤微生物群落结果的这种损伤具有长期性效应及不可恢复性。     

Measurement of methanotroph and methanogen signature phosopholipids for use in assessment of biomass and community structure in model systems

Methanotrophic biomass and community structure were assessed for a soil column enriched with natural gas. An increase in microbial biomass, based on phospholipid ester-linked fatty acids (PLFA), was apparent for the natural gas-enriched column relative to a control column and untreated surface soil. Following GC-MS analyses of the derivatized monounsaturated fatty acids, the major component (22% of the PLFA) of the natural gas-enriched column was identified as 18·1Δ 10c. This relatively novel fatty acid has only been previously reported as a major component in methanotrophs. Its presence in the soil, together with other supportive evidence, implies that this microbial metabolic group makes a large contribution to the column flora. Other microbial groups were also recognized and differences compared between the soils analysed. A recently developed HPLC method for the separation and characterisation of archaebacterial phospholipid-derived signature di- and tetra-ether lipids was used to examine methane-producing digesters. With this technique, methanogenic biomasses of approximately 10¹¹ bacteria per g dry weight of digestor material were determined. Differences between ratios of diether to tetraether phospholipids were apparent for the digestors analysed, though the causes are at this stage unknown. Taken together, these two methods can be used to estimate methanotrophic and methanogenic contributions in both model systems and environmental samples.     

Bacterial and eukaryotic intact polar lipids in the eastern subtropical South Pacific: Water-column distribution, planktonic sources, and fatty acid composition

Fatty acids are generally the most abundant lipid molecules in plankton, and thus play a central role in the cycling of organic matter in the upper ocean. These fatty acids are primarily derived from intact polar diacylglycerolipids (IP-DAGs), which compose cell membranes in plankton. The molecular diversity of IP-DAGs in the upper ocean remains to be fully characterized, and the advent of high performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (HPLC/ESI-MS) approaches have now provided the opportunity to readily analyze IP-DAGs from marine planktonic communities. We used HPLC/ESI-MS to determine the concentrations of three classes of phospholipids (phosphatidlyglycerol (PG), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), and phosphatidylcholine (PC)), three classes of betaine lipids (diacylglyceryl trimethylhomoserine (DGTS), diacylglyceryl hydroxymethyl-trimethyl-β-alanine (DGTA), and diacylglyceryl carboxyhydroxymethylcholine (DGCC)), and three classes of glycolipids (monogalactosyldiacylglycerol (MGDG), digalactosyldiacylglycerol (DGDG), and sulfoquinovosyldiacylglycerol (SQDG)) in plankton filtered (>0.2 μm) from seawater collected within the euphotic zone of the eastern South Pacific. The distributions of these IP-DAGs along the cruise transect provided important new insights on their tentative planktonic sources. Complementary data from our cruise, a principle components analysis of our IP-DAG concentrations, observed fatty acid compositions of IP-DAG classes and published IP-DAG distributions in pure cultures of plankton suggest that heterotrophic bacteria were the dominant sources of PG and PE, while MGDG and SQDG originated primarily from Prochlorophytes. The origins of the other classes of IP-DAGs were less clear, although it is likely that PC, DGTS, DGTA, and DGCC were derived primarily from eukaryotic phytoplankton. The molecular distributions of fatty acids attached to the different classes of IP-DAGs were generally distinct from one another, and suggest that reported distributions of total fatty acids (as analyzed by gas chromatography) in the literature should be regarded as homogenized mixtures of distinct molecular pools of fatty acids.     

Biogeochemistry of fatty acids in recent sediments from Narragansett Bay,Rhode Island

The fatty acid composition of sediments from Narragansett Bay show significant variation between certain areas of the Bay. Both the organic carbon and fatty acid concentrations decrease with increasing distance from the Providence River area—an area which received municipal sewage and industrial effluents. The ratio of the fatty acid concentration to organic carbon concentration is fairly constant for all stations sampled. The variations in the relative abundance of fatty acids may reflect either the influence of fatty acids discharged to the river area by sewage effluents or the synthesis of fatty acids by microbial populations which probably differ for the areas compared. Temporal variations in fatty acid composition and fatty acid concentration are minimal. Lipolytic activity has been demonstrated and probably acts on glycerides deposited to the sediments releasing free fatty acids shortly after deposition. A model for the diagenesis of fatty acids in Recent sediments is proposed based upon the above findings and upon earlier reports by the authors and by other investigators.     

Relationships between microbial communities and environmental parameters at sites impacted by mining of volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits,Prince William Sound,Alaska

The relations among geochemical parameters and sediment microbial communities were examined at three shoreline sites in the Prince William Sound, Alaska, which display varying degrees of impact by acid-rock drainage (ARD) associated with historic mining of volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits. Microbial communities were examined using total fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs), a class of compounds derived from lipids produced by eukaryotes and prokaryotes (bacteria and Archaea); standard extraction techniques detect FAMEs from both living (viable) and dead (non-viable) biomass, but do not detect Archaeal FAMEs. Biomass and diversity (as estimated by FAMEs) varied strongly as a function of position in the tidal zone, not by study site; subtidal muds, Fe oxyhydroxide undergoing biogenic reductive dissolution, and peat-rich intertidal sediment had the highest values. These estimates were lowest in acid-generating, intertidal zone sediment; if valid, the estimates suggest that only one or two bacterial species predominate in these communities, and/or that Archeal species are important members of the microbial community in this sediment.     

Microbial nitrogen cycling at the saltwater–freshwater interface

Microbial communities inhabiting “subterranean estuaries” along the subsurface freshwater–saltwater continuum determine the fate of nitrogen discharged to coastal waters. Little is known about the microbes that comprise these communities, or what their ecological and biogeochemical responses will be to increased salinity resulting from saltwater intrusion and aquifer salinization. This review covers basic aspects of the nitrogen cycle relevant to the coastal subsurface and provides a framework for predicting the types of microbes and nitrogen transformations that exist in different subterranean estuary systems. Literature concerning the freshwater–saltwater mixing zones of surficial estuaries, where microbial communities are better characterized, is also reviewed to explore what is known about the impact of increasing salinity on both the community composition and biogeochemical function of the microbial assemblage. Collectively, these studies suggest that salinization will alter microbial community composition for all functional groups involved in nitrogen cycling, and may lead to decreases in nitrification and coupled nitrification-denitrification, and increases in dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA). Future collaboration between hydrogeologists and microbial ecologists is needed to fully predict the impact of saltwater intrusion on subsurface microbial communities.     

Review: Microbial biocenoses in pristine aquifers and an assessment of investigative methods

The current knowledge of microbial biocenoses (communities) in pristine aquifers is presented in a review, which also discusses their relevance for questions of groundwater protection. Aquifers are heterogeneous on all scales and structured in a variety of habitats. The void spaces in many aquifers are small. The biocenoses are thus predominantly composed of microorganisms and, often, microinvertebrates. Larger voids and macroorganisms occur in karst cavities. Due to the absence of light, the biocenoses depend on chemical energy resources, which are, however, scarce in non-contaminated groundwater. The microorganisms thus show small cell sizes, low population densities and reduced activity; they developed specific strategies to survive oligotrophic conditions. The review also discusses the impact of contamination on the biocenoses, and the potential use of the biocenoses or specific organisms as indicators for groundwater quality, and the limits of this approach. Bacteria are either planktonic or attached to aquifer material, which requires both fluid and solid phase sampling. Most groundwater bacteria are viable but non-culturable. Consequently, cultivation techniques give an incomplete picture of the biocenoses, while methods from molecular microbiology provide genetic fingerprints of the entire community. Different analytical methods are available to count microorganisms, identify species, characterise microbial diversity, and measure activity.     

Benefits of flavonoids and straw mulch application on soil microbial activity in pea rhizosphere

The importance of flavonoids in rhizosphere–legumes symbiosis has been recognized as critical. However, the limited data are available about their impact on soil microbial communities. In rhizosphere, it remains unclear whether flavonoids, mulch or their joint effects influence on soil microbial diversity and enzymes activity. Therefore, in this study, the effects of flavonoids and straw mulching on soil microbial functional diversity, fungi abundance and enzymes activity (dehydrogenases, protease, acid phosphomonoesterase) in pea rhizosphere were evaluated. The field study was conducted in Lublin, Poland (51°15′N, 22°35′E), on a Haplic Luvisol. Flavonoids were applied on pea seeds and after sowing soil surface was covered with straw mulch. In soil rhizosphere sampled three times during the vegetative period of pea were determined: dehydrogenases, protease and acid phosphomonoesterase activities, metabolic potential of soil bacteria, microbes number and predominant fungal species. The results showed that dehydrogenases and protease activities were significantly increased with time during pea growing season. Significant increase in dehydrogenases activity was observed after flavonoids and mulch influence. There was no impact of studied factors on acid phosphomonoesterase. The effects of flavonoids and mulch on biodiversity indices were related to sampling terms. Straw mulching increased potentially antagonistic fungi in pea rhizosphere. The results of this study can be useful in understanding the effects of flavonoids and mulch on microbial activity and dynamics in pea rhizosphere which is very important in soil quality and crop production.