Functional gene pyrosequencing and network analysis: an approach to examine the response of denitrifying bacteria to increased nitrogen supply in salt marsh sediments.

ABSTRACT: Functional gene pyrosequencing is emerging as a useful tool to examine the diversity and abundance of microbes that facilitate key biogeochemical processes. One such process, denitrification, is of particular importance because it converts fixed nitrate (NO(-) 3) to N2 gas, which returns to the atmosphere. In nitrogen limited salt marshes, removal of NO(-) 3 prior to entering adjacent waters helps prevent eutrophication. Understanding the dynamics of salt marsh microbial denitrification is thus imperative for the maintenance of healthy coastal ecosystems. We used pyrosequencing of the nirS gene to examine the denitrifying community response to fertilization in experimentally enriched marsh plots. A key challenge in the analysis of sequence data derived from pyrosequencing is understanding

SUBMITTER: Bowen JL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3841915 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature