Ammonia-oxidizing Bacteria of the Nitrosospira cluster 1 dominate over ammonia-oxidizing Archaea in oligotrophic surface sediments near the South Atlantic Gyre.

ABSTRACT: Sediments across the Namibian continental margin feature a strong microbial activity gradient at their surface. This is reflected in ammonium concentrations of < 10 μM in oligotrophic abyssal plain sediments near the South Atlantic Gyre compared with ammonium concentrations of > 700 μM in upwelling areas near the coast. Here we address changes in apparent abundance and structure of ammonia-oxidizing archaeal and bacterial communities (AOA and AOB) along a transect of seven sediment stations across the Namibian shelf by analysing their respective ammonia monooxygenase genes (amoA). The relative abundance of archaeal and bacterial amoA (g(-1) DNA) decreased with increasing ammonium concentrations, and bacterial amoA frequently outnumbered archaeal amoA at the sediment-water interface [0-1 cm

SUBMITTER: Lagostina L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5008181 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature