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Bacterial Community Composition in Brazilian Anthrosols and Adjacent Soils Characterized Using Culturing and Molecular Identification

  • Soil Microbiology
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Abstract

Microbial community composition was examined in two soil types, Anthrosols and adjacent soils, sampled from three locations in the Brazilian Amazon. The Anthrosols, also known as Amazonian dark earths, are highly fertile soils that are a legacy of pre-Columbian settlement. Both Anthrosols and adjacent soils are derived from the same parent material and subject to the same environmental conditions, including rainfall and temperature; however, the Anthrosols contain high levels of charcoal-like black carbon from which they derive their dark color. The Anthrosols typically have higher cation exchange capacity, higher pH, and higher phosphorus and calcium contents. We used culture media prepared from soil extracts to isolate bacteria unique to the two soil types and then sequenced their 16S rRNA genes to determine their phylogenetic placement. Higher numbers of culturable bacteria, by over two orders of magnitude at the deepest sampling depths, were counted in the Anthrosols. Sequences of bacteria isolated on soil extract media yielded five possible new bacterial families. Also, a higher number of families in the bacteria were represented by isolates from the deeper soil depths in the Anthrosols. Higher bacterial populations and a greater diversity of isolates were found in all of the Anthrosols, to a depth of up to 1 m, compared to adjacent soils located within 50–500 m of their associated Anthrosols. Compared to standard culture media, soil extract media revealed diverse soil microbial populations adapted to the unique biochemistry and physiological ecology of these Anthrosols.

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Acknowledgements

This project was funded by the Division of Environmental Biology of the National Science Foundation under contract no. DEB-0425995. The authors acknowledge the support of the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo, and the insight and advice of Daniel Buckley, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.

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Author notes

  1. J. Grossman

    Present address: Department of Soil Science, North Carolina State University, PO Box 7619, Raleigh, NC, 27695-7619, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, Cornell University, 235 Emerson Hall, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA

    B. O’Neill, J. Grossman, J. Lehmann & J. E. Thies

  2. Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura, Caixa Postal 96, Av. Centenário no. 303, CEP: 13400-970, Piracicaba, São Paolo, Brazil

    M. T. Tsai & J. E. Gomes

  3. University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, 05405, USA

    J. Peterson

  4. Museo de Arqueologia e Etnologia, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, 05508-900, Brazil

    E. Neves

  5. Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, Cornell University, 722 Bradfield Hall, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA

    J. E. Thies

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  1. B. O’Neill
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Correspondence to J. E. Thies.

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The author J. Peterson is already deceased.

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O’Neill, B., Grossman, J., Tsai, M.T. et al. Bacterial Community Composition in Brazilian Anthrosols and Adjacent Soils Characterized Using Culturing and Molecular Identification. Microb Ecol 58, 23–35 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-009-9515-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-009-9515-y

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