Yongqin Liu

Geographic distance and pH drive bacterial distribution in alkaline lake sediments across Tibetan Plateau.

Continent-scale biogeography has been extensively studied in soils and marine systems, but little is known about biogeographical patterns in non-marine sediments. We used barcode pyrosequencing to quantify the effects of local geochemical properties and geographic distance for bacterial community structure and membership, using sediment samples from 15 lakes on the Tibetan Plateau (4–1670 km apart). Bacterial communities were surprisingly diverse, and distinct from soil communities. Four of 26 phyla detected were dominant: Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes and Actinobacteria, albeit 20.2% of sequences were unclassified at the phylum level. As previously observed in acidic soil, pH was the dominant factor influencing alkaline sediment community structure, phylotype richness and phylogenetic diversity. In contrast, archaeal communities were less affected by pH. More geographically distant sites had more dissimilar communities (r = 0.443, P = 0.030). Variance partitioning analysis showed that geographic distance (historical contingencies) contributed more to bacterial community variation (12.2%) than any other factor, although the environmental factors explained more variance when combined (28.9%). Together, our results show that pH is the best predictor of bacterial community structure in alkaline sediments, and confirm that both geographic distance and chemical factors govern bacterial biogeography in lake sediments.

Bacterial Diversity of Freshwater Alpine Lake Puma Yumco on the Tibetan Plateau

Bacterial community in the water of Lake Puma Yumco, a freshwater alpine lake on the Tibetan Plateau was studied for the first time using an integrated approach including water chemistry and culture-dependent and -independent methods. Microbial abundance in the lake water was from 1.59 × 105 to 3.37 × 105 cells mL− 1, and bacteria were evenly distributed in the lake due to its uniform water physical-chemistry. Obtained isolates were affiliated with α-, β- and γ-Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria and Bacteroidetes, among which γ-Proteobacteria isolates were dominant. Retrieved bacterial 16S rRNA gene clones fell into α-, β- and γ-Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Cyanobacteria, Planctomycetes, Verrucomicrobia and Chloroflexi. Bacterial diversity in Lake Puma Yumco was higher than that in other Tibetan lakes at levels of both phyla and clusters. A half of total clones in Lake Puma Yumco were members of the widespread typical freshwater bacterial clusters. The low temperature of Lake Puma Yumco also made it possess unique freshwater bacteria members.

Bacteria variabilities in a Tibetan ice core and their relations with climate change

Ministry of Science and Technology of the Peoples Republic of China [2005CB422004]; National Natural Science Foundation of China [40121101, 40401054]; Innovation Program [KZCX3-SW-339]; Chinese Academy of Sciences

Bacterial Community of the Largest Oligosaline Lake, Namco on the Tibetan Plateau

Bacterial abundances and diversity in the surface water of Lake Namco, the largest oligosaline lake on the Tibetan Plateau, were examined using flow cytometry approach and constructing 16S rRNA gene clone libraries. Bacterial abundances were from 0.08 × 106 to 1.6 × 106 cells mL−1, and were in the reported range of other lakes of the Tibetan Plateau and high mountain regions. Bacterial abundances were significantly correlated with the concentrations of chlorophyll a (chl a), but showed no significant relationship with the dissolved organic carbon (DOC), which suggested that the amount of DOC released by algae was the key factor determining the bacterial abundance rather than the total DOC. The total trace elements concentrations also obviously connected with bacterial abundances, and 9 of 20 elements showed significant relationship. Bacterial 16S rRNA gene clone sequences were affiliated to the α-, β-, γ-, δ-, and ϵ-Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Cyanobacteria, Firmicutes, Acidobacteria, Planctomycetes, Verrucomicrobia, Candidate division OD1, or unclassified, and among these the β-Proteobacteria dominated. Bacteria in Lake Namco were most closely related to those retrieved from freshwater habitats. Relatively few sequences were closely related to those recovered from saline habitats. Eleven of 34 typical freshwater bacterial clusters were detected in the oligosaline Lake Namco. Bacterial diversity within the lake varied and was connected with the concentrations of DOC and chl a.

Salinity drives archaeal distribution patterns in high altitude lake sediments on the Tibetan Plateau

Archaeal communities and the factors regulating their diversity in high altitude lakes are poorly understood. Here, we provide the first high-throughput sequencing study of Archaea from Tibetan Plateau lake sediments. We analyzed twenty lake sediments from the worlds highest and largest plateau and found diverse archaeal assemblages that clustered into groups dominated by methanogenic Euryarchaeota, Crenarchaeota and Halobacteria/mixed euryarchaeal phylotypes. Statistical analysis inferred that salinity was the major driver of community composition, and that archaeal diversity increased with salinity. Sediments with the highest salinities were mostly dominated by Halobacteria. Crenarchaeota dominated at intermediate salinities, and methanogens were present in all lake sediments, albeit most abundant at low salinities. The distribution patterns of the three functional types of methanogens (hydrogenotrophic, acetotrophic and methylotrophic) were also related to changes in salinity. Our results show that salinity is a key factor controlling archaeal community diversity and composition in lake sediments on a spatial scale that spans nearly 2000 km on the Tibetan Plateau.

Massilia yuzhufengensis sp nov, isolated from an ice core

A gram-negative, rod-shaped, aerobic, motile bacterium, strain Y1243-1(T), was isolated from an ice core drilled from Yuzhufeng Glacier, Tibetan Plateau, China. Cells had polar flagella. The novel strain shared 94.7-97.6 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity with the type strains of species of the genus Massilia. The novel isolate is thus classified in the genus Massilia. The major fatty acids of strain Y1243-1(T) were summed feature 3 (C16 : 1ω7c and/or iso-C15 : 0 2-OH) (43.98 %), C16 : 0 (27.86 %), C10 : 0 3-OH (7.10 %), C18 : 0 (6.95 %) and C18 : 1ω7c (5.01 %). The predominant isoprenoid quinone was Q-8. The DNA G+C content of strain Y1243-1(T) was 65.7 mol% (Tm). The major polar lipids were phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol and diphosphatidylglycerol. A number of phenotypic characteristics distinguished the novel isolate from the type strains of recognized Massilia species. Furthermore, in DNA-DNA hybridization tests, strain Y1243-1(T) shared 45 % relatedness with its closest phylogenetic relative, Massilia consociata CCUG 58010(T). From the genotypic and phenotypic data, it is evident that strain Y1243-1(T) represents a novel species of the genus Massilia, for which the name Massilia yuzhufengensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is Y1243-1(T) ( = KACC 16569(T) = CGMCC 1.12041(T)).

Massilia eurypsychrophila sp. nov. a facultatively psychrophilic bacteria isolated from ice core

Strain B528-3(T), a Gram-stain-negative, rod-shaped, aerobic, facultatively psychrophilic bacterium with polar flagella, was isolated from an ice core drilled from Muztagh Glacier, Xinjiang, China. The novel isolate was classified into the genus Massilia. The 16S rRNA gene sequence of the novel isolate shares a pairwise similarity of less than 97% with those of all the type strains of the genus Massilia. The major fatty acids of strain B528-3(T) were summed feature 3 (C16:1ω7c and/or iso-C15:0 2-OH) (57.31%), C16:0 (11.46%) and C18:1ω7c (14.72%). The predominant isoprenoid quinone was Q-8. The DNA G + C content was 62.2 mol% (Tm). The major polar lipids of this bacterium were phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol and diphosphatidylglycerol. From the genotypic and phenotypic data, it is evident that strain B528-3(T) represents a novel species of the genus Massilia, for which the name Massilia eurypsychrophila sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is B528-3(T) ( = JCM 30074(T) = CGMCC 1.12828(T)).

Salinity Impact on Bacterial Community Composition in Five High-Altitude Lakes from the Tibetan Plateau, Western China

The influence of salinity and geographical distance on bacterial community composition (BCC) in five freshwater, oligosaline or polysaline lakes located at altitudes higher than 4400 m on the central and southern Tibetan Plateau were investigated using the 16S rRNA gene clone library approach together with multivariate analysis of environmental variables. A total of 10 clone libraries were constructed with two libraries in each lake, one in the epilimnion and the other in the hypolimnion. Geographical distance was not found to impact BCC significantly, but salinity, chl a and lake hydraulic retention time were significant factors influencing the BCC. Bacteria in lakes located on the central and southern Plateau owned the same community composition as that observed from the eastern Tibetan lakes. They were both predominated by Bacteroidetes and Cyanobacteria, had low taxon richness, and similar typical freshwater clusters and distributed characteristics. Supplemental materials are available for this article. Go to the publishers online edition of Geomicrobiology Journal to view the supplemental file.

Seasonal Dynamics of the Bacterial Community in Lake Namco, the Largest Tibetan Lake

Seasonal variations of bacterial abundance and diversity in Lake Namco, the large and deep high altitude lake, were first investigated using flow cytometry enumeration and 16S rRNA gene clone library analysis. Bacterial abundance varied from 1.5 × 105 to 12.3 × 105 cells mL−1 and exhibited a seasonal pattern that correlated with water temperature and phytoplankton abundance rather than nutrient. This indicated that temperature had a strong effect on bacterial abundance in cold and oligotrophic Lake Namco. Bacterial diversity and community compositions varied in different months. Bacterial community structure changes coincide with the variations of dissolved organic carbon and total nitrogen contents. The three best-represented bacterial groups in libraries, the Actinobacteria, Cyanobacteria, and Beta-proteobacteria, had distinct temporal niches and dominated the bacterial communities in January, May, and June, respectively. Ice cover and nutrient appeared to be of important factors in structuring the seasonal variation of bacterial community composition in Lake Namco.

Hymenobacter glacieicola sp nov., isolated from glacier ice

A Gram-stain-negative, rod-shaped, non-motile and red-pink-pigmented bacterial strain, designated B1909T, was isolated from an ice core drilled from Muztagh Glacier on the Tibetan Plateau, China. A phylogenetic tree based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain B1909T formed a lineage within the genus Hymenobacter and was closely related to Hymenobacter xinjiangensis X2-1gT (96.16 % similarity) and Hymenobacter psychrotolerans Tibet-IIU11T (95.99 %). The predominant fatty acids were iso-C15 : 0, summed feature 3 (C16 : 1ω7c/C16 : 1ω6c), summed feature 4 (iso-C17 : 1ω6c I/anteiso B), C16 : 1ω5c, anteiso-C15 : 0 and iso-C17 : 0 3-OH. The major menaquinone was MK-7. The major polar lipid was phosphatidylethanolamine. The DNA G+C content was 59 mol%. On the basis of the phenotypic, phylogenetic and chemotaxonomic data presented, strain B1909T is considered to represent a novel species of the genus Hymenobacter, for which the name Hymenobacterglacieicola sp. nov. is proposed; the type strain is B1909T (=JCM 30596T=CGMCC 1.12990T).