Microbial diversity and community structure in Fynbos soil

The Fynbos biome in South Africa is renowned for its high plant diversity and the conservation of this area is particularly important for the region. This is especially true in the case of endangered vegetation types on the lowlands such as Sand Fynbos, of which only small fragments remain. The ques...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Molecular ecology 2010-03, Vol.19 (5), p.1031-1041
Main Authors: SLABBERT, ETIENNE, KONGOR, RAPHAEL Y., ESLER, KAREN J., JACOBS, KARIN
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
16S rDNA
18S rDNA
Bacteria
Bacteria - classification
Bacteria - genetics
bacteria diversity
bacterial communities
Biodiversity
DNA, Bacterial - genetics
DNA, Fungal - genetics
DNA, Ribosomal Spacer - genetics
fungal communities
fungal diversity
Fungi
Fungi - classification
Fungi - genetics
fynbos soil
Genetic diversity
Plant ecology
Soil - analysis
Soil Microbiology
South Africa
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Summary:The Fynbos biome in South Africa is renowned for its high plant diversity and the conservation of this area is particularly important for the region. This is especially true in the case of endangered vegetation types on the lowlands such as Sand Fynbos, of which only small fragments remain. The question is thus whether the diversity of the above‐ground flora is mirrored in the below‐ground microbial communities. In order to determine the relationship of the above‐ and below‐ground communities, the soil community composition of both fungal and bacterial groups in Sand Fynbos was characterized over space and time. A molecular approach was used based on the isolation of total soil genomic DNA and automated ribosomal intergenic spacer analysis of bacterial and fungal communities. Soil from four different sites was compared to resolve the microbial diversity of eubacterial and fungal groups on a local (alpha diversity) scale as well as a landscape scale (beta diversity). The community structures from different sites were compared and found to exhibit strong spatial patterns which remained stable over time. The plant community data were compared with the fungal and the bacterial communities. We concluded that the microbial communities in the Sand Fynbos are highly diverse and closely linked to the above‐ground floral communities.
ISSN:0962-1083
1365-294X
DOI:10.1111/j.1365-294X.2009.04517.x