Bacterial communities in Malagasy soils with differing levels of disturbance affecting botanical diversity.

ABSTRACT: Madagascar is well-known for the exceptional biodiversity of its macro-flora and fauna, but the biodiversity of Malagasy microbial communities remains relatively unexplored. Understanding patterns of bacterial diversity in soil and their correlations with above-ground botanical diversity could influence conservation planning as well as sampling strategies to maximize access to bacterially derived natural products. We present the first detailed description of Malagasy soil bacterial communities from a targeted 16S rRNA gene survey of greater than 290,000 sequences generated using 454 pyrosequencing. Two sampling plots in each of three forest conservation areas were established to represent different levels of disturbance resulting from human impact through agriculture and selective exploita

SUBMITTER: Blasiak LC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3896373 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature