The nature of microbial communities and their relation to enzyme activities in desert soils is a neglected area of investigation. To address this, the bacterial diversity and distribution and soil physico-chemical factors were investigated in the soil crust, the soil beneath the crust and rhizosphere soil at the southeast edge of the Tengger Desert, using the denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis of 16S rRNA genes amplified by the polymerase chain reaction. Phylogenedc analysis of the sequenced DGGE bands revealed a great diversity of bacteria. The Proteobacteria, consisting of the α, β, and γsubdivisions, were clearly the dominant group at all depths and in rhizosphere soil. Analysis of the enzyme activities indicated that the rhizosphere soil of Caragana korshinskii exhibited the highest protease and polyphenol oxidase activities, and in the soil crust there were increased activities of catalase, urease, dehydrogenase and sucrase. The bacterial community abundance closely correlated with soil enzyme activities in different soils. The presence of Cyanobacteria correlated with significant increases in protease, catalase and sucrase in the soil crust, and increased urease in the rhizosphere soil of Artemisia ordosica. The occurrence of Acidobacteria was associated with significant increases in urease, dehydrogenase, and sucrase in the rhizosphere soil of C. korshinski. The presence of γ-Proteobacteria correlated with a significant increase in polyphenol oxidase in the rhizosphere soil ofA. ordosica. The study indicated a close relationship between the soil bacterial community and soil enzymes, suggesting the necessity of further investigations into bacterial function in this desert ecosystem.
Wei ZhangGaosen ZhangGuangxiu LiuZhibao DongTuo ChenManxiao ZhangPaul J.DysonLizhe An
Microorganisms in permafrost can live in cold environments due to coadapted physicochemical processes in this environment. In this paper, the relation between microbial number and soil physicochemical properties at the headwaters area of the Urumqi River is analyzed by using fluorescence microscopy counting and oligo-culture techniques. In total, 20 samples from a 200-cm permafrost core were used as study materials. The study reveals that the number of culturable bacteria has a significantly positive correlation with soil water content, total carbon and total nitrogen concentrations, and a significantly negative correlation with soil pH value. In addition, the ratio of culturable bacteria to total cell number decreases with depths. The results demonstrate that the number of culturable bacteria in permafrost is closely correlated with soil physicochemical properties and depositional age.
