College of Natural Resources and Environment, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, China.
Microb Ecol. 2018 Nov;76(4):1053-1062. doi: 10.1007/s00248-018-1197-x. Epub 2018 May 10.
Thus far, no studies have investigated the soil microbial diversity over an elevational gradient in Taibai Mountain, the central massif of the Qinling Mountain Range. Here, we used Illumina sequencing and quantitative PCR of the 16S rRNA gene to assess the diversity and abundance of bacterial communities along an elevational gradient in representative vegetation soils in Taibai Mountain. We identified the soil, climate, and vegetation factors driving the variations in soil bacterial community structure by Pearson correlation and redundancy analysis. We also evaluated the potential for antibiotic discovery by quantitative PCR of the PKS-I, PKS-II, and NRPS genes from Actinobacteria. The results showed that soil bacterial alpha diversity increased first and then decreased with an elevational rise in both the northern and southern slopes of Taibai Mountain. The bacterial abundance was significantly correlated with soil organic matter and nitrate nitrogen. The average relative abundance of Actinobacteria in Taibai Mountain was markedly higher than those in other mountain forest soils. The absolute abundance of PKS and NPRS gene was significantly higher in the tested soils compared with the gene copy numbers reported in tropical urban soils. Taibai Mountain is rich in actinomycete resources and has great potential for antibiotic excavation.
迄今为止，尚无研究调查过秦岭山脉主峰太白山沿海拔梯度的土壤微生物多样性。在这里，我们使用 Illumina 测序和 16S rRNA 基因的定量 PCR 来评估太白山代表性植被土壤中沿海拔梯度的细菌群落的多样性和丰度。我们通过 Pearson 相关性和冗余分析确定了驱动土壤细菌群落结构变化的土壤、气候和植被因素。我们还通过定量 PCR 评估了从放线菌中发现抗生素的潜力，检测了 PKS-I、PKS-II 和 NRPS 基因。结果表明，太白山南北坡的土壤细菌 α 多样性随着海拔的升高先增加后减少。细菌丰度与土壤有机质和硝酸盐氮显著相关。与其他山地森林土壤相比，太白山放线菌的平均相对丰度明显较高。与热带城市土壤中的基因拷贝数相比，测试土壤中 PKS 和 NRPS 基因的绝对丰度显著更高。太白山富含放线菌资源，具有挖掘抗生素的巨大潜力。
