Long-term nitrogen fertilization decreased the abundance of inorganic phosphate solubilizing bacteria in an alkaline soil

Sci Rep. 2017 Feb 9:7:42284. doi: 10.1038/srep42284.

Abstract

Inorganic phosphate solubilizing bacteria (iPSB) are essential to facilitate phosphorus (P) mobilization in alkaline soil, however, the phylogenetic structure of iPSB communities remains poorly characterized. Thus, we use a reference iPSB database to analyze the distribution of iPSB communities based on 16S rRNA gene illumina sequencing. Additionally, a noval pqqC primer was developed to quantify iPSB abundance. In our study, an alkaline soil with 27-year fertilization treatment was selected. The percentage of iPSB was 1.10~2.87% per sample, and the dominant iPSB genera were closely related to Arthrobacter, Bacillus, Brevibacterium and Streptomyces. Long-term P fertilization had no significant effect on the abundance of iPSB communities. Rather than P and potassium (K) additions, long-term nitrogen (N) fertilization decreased the iPSB abundance, which was validated by reduced relative abundance of pqqC gene (pqqC/16S). The decreased iPSB abundance was strongly related to pH decline and total N increase, revealing that the long-term N additions may cause pH decline and subsequent P releases relatively decreasing the demands of the iPSB community. The methodology and understanding obtained here provides insights into the ecology of inorganic P solubilizers and how to manipulate for better P use efficiency.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Alkalies / chemistry*
  • Bacteria / genetics
  • Bacteria / metabolism*
  • Fertilizers / analysis*
  • Genes, Bacterial
  • Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
  • Monte Carlo Method
  • Nitrogen / analysis*
  • Phosphates / analysis*
  • Phylogeny
  • RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / genetics
  • Sequence Analysis, DNA
  • Soil / chemistry*

Substances

  • Alkalies
  • Fertilizers
  • Phosphates
  • RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
  • Soil
  • Nitrogen