Influence of Effluent Irrigation on Community Composition and Function of Ammonia-Oxidizing Bacteria in Soil

Abstract

The effect of effluent irrigation on community composition and function of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) in soil was evaluated, using techniques of molecular biology and analytical soil chemistry. Analyses were conducted on soil sampled from lysimeters and from a grapefruit orchard which had been irrigated with wastewater effluent or fertilizer-amended water (FAW). Specifically, comparisons of AOB community composition were conducted using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) of PCR-amplified fragments of the gene encoding the ␣-subunit of the ammonia monooxygenase gene (amoA) recovered from soil samples and subsequent sequencing of relevant bands. A significant and consistent shift in the population composition of AOB was detected in soil irrigated with effluent. This shift was absent in soils irrigated with FAW, despite the fact that the ammonium concentration in the FAW was similar. At the end of the irrigation period, Nitrosospiralike populations were dominant in soils irrigated with FAW, while Nitrosomonas-like populations were dominant in effluent-irrigated soils. Furthermore, DGGE analysis of the amoA gene proved to be a powerful tool in evaluating the soil AOB community population and population shifts therein.

Quantitative analyses of ammonia-oxidizing Archaea and bacteria in the sediments of four nitrogen-rich wetlands in China

“…The bacterial amoA gene copy numbers and nitrification activity were all increased with increasing of substrate ammonia concentration. The previous studies also find that, in relative high substrate ammonia condition, not only the bacterial AOB population size (Oved et al 2001;Okano et al 2004) but also the nitrification activity (Avrahami et al 2002) were all increased with increasing soil ammonia concentration, even with 7.5 mM ammonium sulfate. But, the archaeal amoA gene copy numbers showed little relationship with increasing ammonia concentration, which was similar with the other results of He et al (2007), Shen et al (2008), and Di et al (2009).…”

Initial Copper Stress Strengthens the Resistance of Soil Microorganisms to a Subsequent Copper Stress

“…This pivotal process was presumed to be performed by ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) for over a century [9] and recently expanded to the newly discovered ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) [10]. AOB have been frequently used as an indicator for various soil perturbations, for instance, herbicides [11] and wastewater irrigation [12]. Recent findings suggested that AOA could also act as an indicator for soil enduring stresses, such as agricultural practices [13].…”

Analysis of a Bacterial Community in 3-Chlorobenzoate-Contaminated Soil by PCR-DGGE Targeting the 16S rRNA Gene and Benzoate 1,2-Dioxygenase Gene (benA)

“…Recently, there have been several reports of PCR-DGGE targeting "functional genes," e.g., the phenol hydoroxylase (LmPH) gene 40) , the ammonium monooxygenase gene (amoA) 27) , the particulate methane monooxygenase gene (pmoA) 14) , the methanol dehydrogenase gene (mxaF) 5) , the desulfurization gene (dsz) 4) , and the chitinase gene (chi) 41) . A precondition of using a "functional gene" as a marker for PCR-DGGE is that a specific primer employed to amplify the gene from various organisms can be designed.…”