High diversity of bacteria from Fugong mangrove sediment.

Abstract

Bacterial diversity in the surface layer of Fugong mangrove sediment, China - a subtropical mangrove - was investigated using a cultivation-independent method. App. 700 bp of 16S rRNA gene sequences was compared with the sequences in the GenBank database. Total 127 OTUs from 153 clones were recovered and they affiliated into 17 major lineages of the bacterial domain. It was the highest level of diversity reported from mangrove environments. Clones affiliated into -Proteobacteria (22.2%) were most abundant and followed by Acidobacteria (17.0%), -Proteobacteria (13.1%), γ-Proteobacteria (7.8%), Chloroflexi (7.2%), Firmicutes (5.9%), Actinobacteria (5.9%), Planctomycetes (5.2%), β-Proteobacteria (4.6%). Minor proportion of clones affiliated into -Proteobacteria, Verrucomicrobia, Fusobacteria, Nitrospira, Cyanobacteria, Candidate Division OP11 and OD1, and CFB group also recovered. More than half of the clones showed high similarity with previously reported clones from mangrove or tidal flat sediments, however, still uncultivated. Relatively high abundance of clone types affiliated into Acidobacteria but low proportion of CFB group bacterial clones distinguishing the Fugong mangrove from other mangrove environments