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Seasonal and spatial diversity of microbial communities in marine sediments of the South China Sea

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Abstract

This study was conducted to characterize the diversity of microbial communities in marine sediments of the South China Sea by means of 16S rRNA gene clone libraries. The results revealed that the sediment samples collected in summer harboured a more diverse microbial community than that collected in winter, Deltaproteobacteria dominated 16S rRNA gene clone libraries from both seasons, followed by Gammaproteobacteria, Acidobacteria, Nitrospirae, Planctomycetes, Firmicutes. Archaea phylotypes were also found. The majority of clone sequences shared greatest similarity to uncultured organisms, mainly from hydrothermal sediments and cold seep sediments. In addition, the sedimentary microbial communities in the coastal sea appears to be much more diverse than that of the open sea. A spatial pattern in the sediment samples was observed that the sediment samples collected from the coastal sea and the open sea clustered separately, a novel microbial community dominated the open sea. The data indicate that changes in environmental conditions are accompanied by significant variations in diversity of microbial communities at the South China Sea.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by grants from the National High-Tech Research & Development program of China (2007AA091904 & 2008AA09Z402).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol and Department of Biochemistry, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen (Zhongshan) University, Guangzhou, 510275, China

    Jikun Du, Kai Xiao, Yali Huang, Huixian Li, Hongming Tan, Lixiang Cao, Yongjun Lu & Shining Zhou

  2. College of Fundamental Medical Science, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, 510006, China

    Yali Huang

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  1. Jikun Du
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  2. Kai Xiao
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  3. Yali Huang
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Correspondence to Shining Zhou.

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Du, J., Xiao, K., Huang, Y. et al. Seasonal and spatial diversity of microbial communities in marine sediments of the South China Sea. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek 100, 317–331 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10482-011-9587-9

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