Effect of redox conditions on bacterial community structure in Baltic Sea sediments with contrasting redox conditions

TY - JOUR

T1 - Effect of redox conditions on bacterial community structure in Baltic Sea sediments with contrasting redox conditions

AU - Steenbergh, A.K.

AU - Bodelier, P.L.E.

AU - Slomp, C.P

AU - Laanbroek, H.J.

N1 - Reporting year: 2014 Metis note: 5585; ME; Data archiving: data archived at publisher

PY - 2014

Y1 - 2014

N2 - Phosphorus release from sediments can exacerbate the effect of eutrophication in coastal marine ecosystems. The flux of phosphorus from marine sediments to the overlying water is highly dependent on the redox conditions at the sediment-water interface. Bacteria are key players in the biological processes that release or retain phosphorus in marine sediments. To gain more insight in the role of bacteria in phosphorus release from sediments, we assessed the effect of redox conditions on the structure of bacterial communities. To do so, we incubated surface sediments from four sampling sites in the Baltic Sea under oxic and anoxic conditions and analyzed the fingerprints of the bacterial community structures in these incubations and the original sediments. This paper describes the effects of redox conditions, sampling station, and sample type (DNA, RNA, or whole-cell sample) on bacterial community structure in sediments. Redox conditions explained only 5% of the variance in community structure, and bacterial communities from contrasting redox conditions showed considerable overlap. We conclude that benthic bacterial communities cannot be classified as being typical for oxic or anoxic conditions based on community structure fingerprints. Our results suggest that the overall structure of the benthic bacterial community has only a limited impact on benthic phosphate fluxes in the Baltic Sea.

AB - Phosphorus release from sediments can exacerbate the effect of eutrophication in coastal marine ecosystems. The flux of phosphorus from marine sediments to the overlying water is highly dependent on the redox conditions at the sediment-water interface. Bacteria are key players in the biological processes that release or retain phosphorus in marine sediments. To gain more insight in the role of bacteria in phosphorus release from sediments, we assessed the effect of redox conditions on the structure of bacterial communities. To do so, we incubated surface sediments from four sampling sites in the Baltic Sea under oxic and anoxic conditions and analyzed the fingerprints of the bacterial community structures in these incubations and the original sediments. This paper describes the effects of redox conditions, sampling station, and sample type (DNA, RNA, or whole-cell sample) on bacterial community structure in sediments. Redox conditions explained only 5% of the variance in community structure, and bacterial communities from contrasting redox conditions showed considerable overlap. We conclude that benthic bacterial communities cannot be classified as being typical for oxic or anoxic conditions based on community structure fingerprints. Our results suggest that the overall structure of the benthic bacterial community has only a limited impact on benthic phosphate fluxes in the Baltic Sea.

KW - international

U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0092401

DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0092401

M3 - Article

SN - 1932-6203

VL - 9

JO - PLoS One

JF - PLoS One

IS - 3

M1 - e92401

ER -