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Guo Z, Ma XS, Ni SQ. Journey of the swift nitrogen transformation: Unveiling comammox from discovery to deep understanding. CHEMOSPHERE 2024; 358:142093. [PMID: 38679176 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.142093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2024] [Revised: 04/02/2024] [Accepted: 04/19/2024] [Indexed: 05/01/2024]
Abstract
COMplete AMMonia OXidizer (comammox) refers to microorganisms that have the function of oxidizing NH4+ to NO3- alone. The discovery of comammox overturned the two-step theory of nitrification in the past century and triggered many important scientific questions about the nitrogen cycle in nature. This comprehensive review delves into the origin and discovery of comammox, providing a detailed account of its detection primers, clades metabolic variations, and environmental factors. An in-depth analysis of the ecological niche differentiation among ammonia oxidizers was also discussed. The intricate role of comammox in anammox systems and the relationship between comammox and nitrogen compound emissions are also discussed. Finally, the relationship between comammox and anammox is displayed, and the future research direction of comammox is prospected. This review reveals the metabolic characteristics and distribution patterns of comammox in ecosystems, providing new perspectives for understanding nitrogen cycling and microbial ecology. Additionally, it offers insights into the potential application value and prospects of comammox.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zheng Guo
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Shandong, 266237, China
| | - Xue Song Ma
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Shandong, 266237, China
| | - Shou-Qing Ni
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Shandong, 266237, China.
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2
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Zhang J, Zhou M, Shi F, Lei Z, Wang Y, Hu M, Zhao J. The abundance of comammox bacteria was higher than that of ammonia-oxidizing archaea and bacteria in rhizosphere of emergent macrophytes in a typical shallow lake riparian. Int Microbiol 2024; 27:67-79. [PMID: 38062210 DOI: 10.1007/s10123-023-00465-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2022] [Revised: 06/20/2023] [Accepted: 11/30/2023] [Indexed: 02/01/2024]
Abstract
Complete ammonia oxidation (comammox) bacteria can complete the whole nitrification process independently, which not only challenges the classical two-step nitrification theory but also updates long-held perspective of microbial ecological relationship in nitrification process. Although comammox bacteria have been found in many ecosystems in recent years, there is still a lack of research on the comammox process in rhizosphere of emergent macrophytes in lakeshore zone. Sediment samples were collected in this study from rhizosphere, far-rhizosphere, and non-rhizosphere of emergent macrophytes along the shore of Lake Liangzi, a shallow lake. The diversity of comammox bacteria and amoA gene abundance of comammox bacteria, ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA), and ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) in these samples were measured. The results showed that comammox bacteria widely existed in the rhizosphere of emergent macrophytes and fell into clade A.1, clade A.2, and clade B, and clade A was the predominant community in all sampling sites. The abundance of comammox amoA gene (6.52 × 106-2.45 × 108 copies g-1 dry sediment) was higher than that of AOB amoA gene (6.58 × 104-3.58 × 106 copies g-1 dry sediment), and four orders of magnitude higher than that of AOA amoA gene (7.24 × 102-6.89 × 103 copies g-1 dry sediment), suggesting that the rhizosphere of emergent macrophytes is more favorable for the growth of comammox bacteria than that of AOB and AOA. Our study indicated that the comammox bacteria may play important roles in ammonia-oxidizing processes in all different rhizosphere regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiahui Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, Beijing, 100038, China
- Department of Water Ecology and Environment, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing, 100038, China
- Laboratory of Eco-Environmental Engineering Research, Key Laboratory of Arable Land Conservation (Middle and Lower Reaches of Yangtze River), Ministry of Agriculture, Huazhong Agricultural University, No.1, Shizishan Street, Hongshan District, Wuhan, 430070, People's Republic of China
| | - Mingzhi Zhou
- Laboratory of Eco-Environmental Engineering Research, Key Laboratory of Arable Land Conservation (Middle and Lower Reaches of Yangtze River), Ministry of Agriculture, Huazhong Agricultural University, No.1, Shizishan Street, Hongshan District, Wuhan, 430070, People's Republic of China
| | - Fengning Shi
- Yunnan Hydrology and Water Resources Bureau, Kunming, 650100, China
| | - Ziyan Lei
- Laboratory of Eco-Environmental Engineering Research, Key Laboratory of Arable Land Conservation (Middle and Lower Reaches of Yangtze River), Ministry of Agriculture, Huazhong Agricultural University, No.1, Shizishan Street, Hongshan District, Wuhan, 430070, People's Republic of China
| | - Yuchun Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, Beijing, 100038, China
- Department of Water Ecology and Environment, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing, 100038, China
| | - Mingming Hu
- State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, Beijing, 100038, China.
- Department of Water Ecology and Environment, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing, 100038, China.
| | - Jianwei Zhao
- Laboratory of Eco-Environmental Engineering Research, Key Laboratory of Arable Land Conservation (Middle and Lower Reaches of Yangtze River), Ministry of Agriculture, Huazhong Agricultural University, No.1, Shizishan Street, Hongshan District, Wuhan, 430070, People's Republic of China.
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Yu B, Zeng Q, Li J, Li J, Tan X, Gao X, Mao Z, Huang P, Wu S. Sediment depth-related variations of comammox Nitrospira: Evidence in the Three Gorges Reservoir, China. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 905:167055. [PMID: 37709074 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2023] [Revised: 09/04/2023] [Accepted: 09/11/2023] [Indexed: 09/16/2023]
Abstract
The recent discovery of comammox Nitrospira as complete ammonia-oxidizing microorganism has fundamentally revolutionized our understanding of nitrogen cycling in sediment environments. However, knowledge regarding their abundance, biodiversity, community structure, and interactions is predominantly limited to the upper layers (0-20 cm). To address this gap, we collected sediment samples along profiles ranging from 0 to 300 cm in depth at three locations within the middle segment of the Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR), China. Quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) analyses suggested that comammox bacteria were not only ubiquitous in deep sediments but also more abundant than ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB). Ammonia monooxygenases subunit A (amoA) gene amplicon sequencing illuminated that comammox bacteria were more sensitive to sedimental depth compared to AOB and ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA), as evidenced by a more significant decline in community diversity and similarity over distance along sediment vertical profiles. Notably, we discovered that the amoA gene abundance, alpha- and beta-diversity of comammox bacteria exerted an essential contribution to potential nitrification rates according to random forest model. Phylogenetic analysis indicted that most comammox bacteria within sediment samples belonged to clade A.2. Intriguingly, the average relative abundance of comammox clade A.2 displayed a noteworthy rise with sediment depth, whereas clade A.1 demonstrated a converse pattern, unveiling distinct ecological niche adaptations of these two clades along the sediment profile. Ecological network analysis further revealed closer interactions between comammox bacteria and canonical ammonia oxidizers in the superficial layer (0-40 cm), with the network structure gradually simplifying from superficial to deep sediment (200-300 cm). Overall, these findings broaden the current recognition of the geographic distribution and niche segregation of comammox bacteria at the fine scale of the sediments ecosystems and provide insights into sediment depth-related variations of their coexistence network patterns in large freshwater reservoirs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Baohong Yu
- Key Laboratory of Reservoir Aquatic Environment, Chongqing Institute of Green and Intelligent Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chongqing 400714, PR China; Chongqing School, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chongqing 400714, PR China
| | - Quanchao Zeng
- Key Laboratory of Reservoir Aquatic Environment, Chongqing Institute of Green and Intelligent Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chongqing 400714, PR China.
| | - Jinlin Li
- Key Laboratory of Reservoir Aquatic Environment, Chongqing Institute of Green and Intelligent Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chongqing 400714, PR China
| | - Jun Li
- Key Laboratory of Reservoir Aquatic Environment, Chongqing Institute of Green and Intelligent Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chongqing 400714, PR China
| | - Xun Tan
- Key Laboratory of Reservoir Aquatic Environment, Chongqing Institute of Green and Intelligent Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chongqing 400714, PR China
| | - Xin Gao
- Key Laboratory of Reservoir Aquatic Environment, Chongqing Institute of Green and Intelligent Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chongqing 400714, PR China
| | - Ziqiang Mao
- Key Laboratory of Reservoir Aquatic Environment, Chongqing Institute of Green and Intelligent Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chongqing 400714, PR China
| | - Ping Huang
- Key Laboratory of Reservoir Aquatic Environment, Chongqing Institute of Green and Intelligent Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chongqing 400714, PR China
| | - Shengjun Wu
- Key Laboratory of Reservoir Aquatic Environment, Chongqing Institute of Green and Intelligent Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chongqing 400714, PR China.
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Impact of environmental factors on diversity of fungi in sediments from the Shenzhen River Estuary. Arch Microbiol 2023; 205:96. [PMID: 36820941 PMCID: PMC9950236 DOI: 10.1007/s00203-023-03438-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2022] [Revised: 01/31/2023] [Accepted: 02/09/2023] [Indexed: 02/24/2023]
Abstract
In this study, to explore the relationship between environmental factors and fungal diversity in the Shenzhen River ecosystem, multiple methods including chemical analysis, culture isolation, qPCR analysis of fungal ITS region and ITS-based Illumina next-generation-sequencing were integrated. A total of 115 isolates were finally isolated and could be classified into 23 genera. Top three abundant genera isolated were Meyerozyma (18 strains), Aspergillus (17 strains) and Penicillium (14 strains). Based on the Illumina sequencing approach, 829 OTUs were affiliated to seven phyla, 17 known classes, and 162 genera, indicating the Shenzhen estuary sediments are rich in fungal diversity. The major fungal genera were Meyerozyma, Trichoderma and Talaromyces. Environmental factors showed a gradient change in Shenzhen estuary, and fungal abundance was only significantly correlated with NH4+. Shannon index was significantly correlated with pH and IC (P < 0.05). Principal coordinate analysis based on OTU level grouped into three clusters among sampling sites along with the IC and pH gradient. Functional guilds analysis suggests most of the fungi in this studying area were almost all saprotrophs, suggesting a large number of saprophytic fungi may play a significant role in the organic matter decomposition and nutrient cycling process. In summary, this study will deepen our understanding of fungi community in Shenzhen River ecosystem and their distribution and potential function shaped by environmental factors.
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Palomo A, Dechesne A, Pedersen AG, Smets BF. Genomic profiling of Nitrospira species reveals ecological success of comammox Nitrospira. MICROBIOME 2022; 10:204. [PMID: 36451244 PMCID: PMC9714041 DOI: 10.1186/s40168-022-01411-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2022] [Accepted: 11/03/2022] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The discovery of microorganisms capable of complete ammonia oxidation to nitrate (comammox) has prompted a paradigm shift in our understanding of nitrification, an essential process in N cycling, hitherto considered to require both ammonia oxidizing and nitrite oxidizing microorganisms. This intriguing metabolism is unique to the genus Nitrospira, a diverse taxon previously known to only contain canonical nitrite oxidizers. Comammox Nitrospira have been detected in diverse environments; however, a global view of the distribution, abundance, and diversity of Nitrospira species is still incomplete. RESULTS In this study, we retrieved 55 metagenome-assembled Nitrospira genomes (MAGs) from newly obtained and publicly available metagenomes. Combined with publicly available MAGs, this constitutes the largest Nitrospira genome database to date with 205 MAGs, representing 132 putative species, most without cultivated representatives. Mapping of metagenomic sequencing reads from various environments against this database enabled an analysis of the distribution and habitat preferences of Nitrospira species. Comammox Nitrospira's ecological success is evident as they outnumber and present higher species-level richness than canonical Nitrospira in all environments examined, except for marine and wastewaters samples. The type of environment governs Nitrospira species distribution, without large-scale biogeographical signal. We found that closely related Nitrospira species tend to occupy the same habitats, and that this phylogenetic signal in habitat preference is stronger for canonical Nitrospira species. Comammox Nitrospira eco-evolutionary history is more complex, with subclades achieving rapid niche divergence via horizontal transfer of genes, including the gene encoding hydroxylamine oxidoreductase, a key enzyme in nitrification. CONCLUSIONS Our study expands the genomic inventory of the Nitrospira genus, exposes the ecological success of complete ammonia oxidizers within a wide range of habitats, identifies the habitat preferences of (sub)lineages of canonical and comammox Nitrospira species, and proposes that horizontal transfer of genes involved in nitrification is linked to niche separation within a sublineage of comammox Nitrospira. Video Abstract.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alejandro Palomo
- Department of Environmental and Resource Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs Lyngby, Denmark
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China
| | - Arnaud Dechesne
- Department of Environmental and Resource Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Anders G. Pedersen
- Section for Bioinformatics, Department of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Barth F. Smets
- Department of Environmental and Resource Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs Lyngby, Denmark
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6
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Zhang H, Cheng F, Sun S, Li Z. Diversity distribution and characteristics of comammox in different ecosystems. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2022; 214:113900. [PMID: 35839911 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2022.113900] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2022] [Revised: 06/14/2022] [Accepted: 07/10/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The discovery of complete ammonia oxidizers (comammox), which can oxidize ammonia into nitrate, has recently changed the concept of traditional nitrification. However, comparative studies on the analysis of comammox microbial community in different ecosystems are still scarce. In this study, the distribution and diversity of the comammox microbial community in farmlands, riparian zones, and river sediments in summer and winter were investigated by high-throughput sequencing. And the relative abundance of ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms was measured via their amoA genes of real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). The relationships between ammonia oxidation microorganisms and the environmental factors were further analyzed. The abundance of comammox clade A was one order of magnitude lower than that of ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) but higher than that of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB). The abundance of comammox was higher in summer than in winter and higher in farmland soils (1.81 ± 0.95 × 107 copies g-1) than in riparian zones and river sediments. Meanwhile, Candidatus Nitrospira nitrosa were the most widespread comammox in most samples (up to 86.31%), followed by Candidatus Nitrospira nitrificans, with a low abundance of Candidatus Nitrospira inopinata (lower than 0.61%). Furthermore, the abundance of comammox clade A had a significantly negative correlation with pH and NH4+ concentration (P < 0.05). The study revealed the potential advantages of comammox in farmlands and may be conducive to further research on comammox in microbial nitrogen cycling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hui Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, China; School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, China
| | - Fan Cheng
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, China; School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, China
| | - Siyu Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, China; School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, China
| | - Zhengkui Li
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, China; School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, China.
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Deterministic Factors Determine the Comammox Community Composition in the Pearl River Estuary Ecosystem. Microbiol Spectr 2022; 10:e0101622. [PMID: 35913204 PMCID: PMC9431512 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.01016-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Complete ammonia oxidizers (comammox) have been widely detected in riverine and estuarine ecosystems. However, knowledge about the process of comammox community assembly from freshwater to marine environments is still limited. Here, based on deep sequencing, we investigated the community composition of comammox along a salinity gradient in the Pearl River Estuary (PRE), South China. Our results showed that comammox microorganisms in the PRE sediments were extremely diverse and displayed distinct distributional patterns between upstream and downstream habitats. Quantitative PCR demonstrated that comammox was the dominant ammonia-oxidizing microorganism (AOM) in the PRE upstream sediments, and ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) dominated the PRE downstream sediments, while ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) were not dominant in any section of the PRE. Neutral modeling revealed that stochastic processes explained a limited part of the variation in the comammox community. The majority of beta nearest-taxon index values were higher than 2, indicating that comammox community assembly in the PRE sediments was better explained through a deterministic process than through a stochastic process. Salinity and total nitrogen were the most important contributing factors that shaped the comammox community. This study expanded the current knowledge of the diversity and niche preference of comammox in the estuarine ecosystem, and further enhances our understanding of the assembly of comammox community from freshwater to marine environments. IMPORTANCE Microbial communities are shaped by stochastic (emigration, immigration, birth, death, and genetic drift of species) and deterministic (e.g., environmental factors) processes. However, it remains unknown as to which type of process is more important in influencing the comammox community assembly from freshwater to marine environments. In this study, we compared the relative importance of stochastic and deterministic processes in shaping the assembly of the comammox community, which demonstrated that the deterministic process was more important in determining the community assembly patterns in the PRE ecosystem.
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Bai X, Hu X, Liu J, Gu H, Jin J, Liu X, Wang G. Evaluation of four primer sets for analysis of comammox communities in black soils. Front Microbiol 2022; 13:944373. [PMID: 35958136 PMCID: PMC9362984 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.944373] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2022] [Accepted: 06/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Comammox, as a newly discovered ammonia oxidizer, urgently needs highly efficient and specific primers to detect its community structure and diversity. In this study, the performance of widely used primer set Ntsp-amoA 162F/359R and newly designed primer sets comamoA F/R, CA377f/C576r, and CB377f/C576r were evaluated, for high-throughput sequencing of comammox amoA genes in natural and arable soils sampled from two locations in the black soil region of northeast China. Results showed that, compared with the primer set comamoA F/R, primers Ntsp-amoA 162F/359R had more advantages in detecting comammox operational taxonomic unit (OTU) numbers, diversity, and community structure. The primer sets CA377f/C576r and CB377f/C576r had an advantage in detecting comammox sequences with low relative abundance. In addition, the results of the phylogenetic tree and the relative abundance of dominant OTUs showed that the comammox in the black soils of northeast China was dominated by Nitrospira Clade B. Furthermore, our study found that long-term land use reduced the alpha diversity of the comammox community, but lead to the convergent evolution of community structure. The Mantel test and canonical correspondence analysis indicated that soil NO3–-N content was the most important factor affecting the community structure of comammox. Our study provided experience accumulation for the selection of comammox primers for high-throughput sequencing in the black soil of northeast China.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xin Bai
- Key Laboratory of Mollisols Agroecology, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Harbin, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Xiaojing Hu
- Key Laboratory of Mollisols Agroecology, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Harbin, China
| | - Junjie Liu
- Key Laboratory of Mollisols Agroecology, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Harbin, China
| | - Haidong Gu
- Key Laboratory of Mollisols Agroecology, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Harbin, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Jian Jin
- Key Laboratory of Mollisols Agroecology, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Harbin, China
| | - Xiaobing Liu
- Key Laboratory of Mollisols Agroecology, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Harbin, China
| | - Guanghua Wang
- Key Laboratory of Mollisols Agroecology, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Harbin, China
- *Correspondence: Guanghua Wang,
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Zhang SN, Wang JG, Wang DQ, Jiang QY, Quan ZX. Abundance and Niche Differentiation of Comammox in the Sludges of Wastewater Treatment Plants That Use the Anaerobic-Anoxic-Aerobic Process. Life (Basel) 2022; 12:life12070954. [PMID: 35888046 PMCID: PMC9322089 DOI: 10.3390/life12070954] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2022] [Revised: 06/20/2022] [Accepted: 06/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Complete ammonia oxidizers (comammox), which directly oxidize ammonia to nitrate, were recently identified and found to be ubiquitous in artificial systems. Research on the abundance and niche differentiation of comammox in the sludges of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) would be useful for improving the nitrogen removal efficiency of WWTPs. Here, we investigated the relative abundance and diversity of comammox in fifteen sludges of five WWTPs that use the anaerobic−anoxic−aerobic process in Jinan, China, via quantitative polymerase chain reaction and high-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene and ammonia monooxygenase gene. In the activated sludges in the WWTPs, comammox clade A.1 was widely distributed and mostly comprised Candidatus Nitrospira nitrosa-like comammox (>98% of all comammox). The proportion of this clade was negatively correlated (p < 0.01) with the dissolved oxygen (DO) level (1.7−8 mg/L), and slight pH changes (7.20−7.70) affected the structure of the comammox populations. Nitrospira lineage I frequently coexisted with Nitrosomonas, which generally had a significant positive correlation (p < 0.05) with the DO level. Our study provided an insight into the structure of comammox and other nitrifier populations in WWTPs that use the anaerobic−anoxic−aerobic process, broadening the knowledge about the effects of DO on comammox and other nitrifiers.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Qiu-Yue Jiang
- Correspondence: (Q.-Y.J.); (Z.-X.Q.); Tel.: +86-21-3124-0665 (Z.-X.Q.)
| | - Zhe-Xue Quan
- Correspondence: (Q.-Y.J.); (Z.-X.Q.); Tel.: +86-21-3124-0665 (Z.-X.Q.)
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Zhang J, Hu M, Wang Y, Zhao J, Li S, Bao Y, Wen J, Hu J, Zhou M. Niche differentiation of comammox Nitrospira in sediments of the Three Gorges Reservoir typical tributaries, China. Sci Rep 2022; 12:6820. [PMID: 35474096 PMCID: PMC9042867 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-10948-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2022] [Accepted: 04/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Complete ammonia oxidizer (Comammox) can complete the whole nitrification process independently, whose niche differentiation is important guarantee for its survival and ecological function. This study investigated the niche differentiation of comammox Nitrospira in the sediments of three typical tributaries of the Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR). Clade A and clade B of comammox Nitrospira coexisted in all sampling sites simultaneously. The amoA gene abundance of clade A and B was gradually increased or decreased along the flow path of the three tributaries with obvious spatial differentiation. The amoA gene abundance of comammox Nitrospira clade A (6.36 × 103 - 5.06 × 104 copies g-1 dry sediment) was higher than that of clade B (6.26 × 102 - 6.27 × 103 copies g-1 dry sediment), and the clade A amoA gene abundance was one order of magnitude higher than that of AOA (7.24 × 102 - 6.89 × 103 copies g-1 dry sediment) and AOB (1.44 × 102 - 1.46 × 103 copies g-1 dry sediment). A significant positive correlation was observed between comammox Nitrospira clade A amoA gene abundance and flow distance (P < 0.05). The number of operational taxonomic units (OTUs) in two sub-clades of clade A accounted for the majority in different tributaries, indicating that clade A also had population differentiation among different tributaries. This study revealed that comammox Nitrospira in the sediments of TGR tributaries have niche differentiation and clade A.2 played a more crucial role in comammox Nitrospira community.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiahui Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, Beijing, 10038, People's Republic of China.,Department of Water Ecology and Environment, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing, 100038, People's Republic of China.,Laboratory of Eco-Environmental Engineering Research, State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Soil Health and Green Remediation, College of Resources and Environment, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei, People's Republic of China
| | - Mingming Hu
- State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, Beijing, 10038, People's Republic of China. .,Department of Water Ecology and Environment, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing, 100038, People's Republic of China.
| | - Yuchun Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, Beijing, 10038, People's Republic of China.,Department of Water Ecology and Environment, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing, 100038, People's Republic of China
| | - Jianwei Zhao
- Laboratory of Eco-Environmental Engineering Research, State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Soil Health and Green Remediation, College of Resources and Environment, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei, People's Republic of China.
| | - Shanze Li
- State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, Beijing, 10038, People's Republic of China.,Department of Water Ecology and Environment, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing, 100038, People's Republic of China
| | - Yufei Bao
- State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, Beijing, 10038, People's Republic of China.,Department of Water Ecology and Environment, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing, 100038, People's Republic of China
| | - Jie Wen
- State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, Beijing, 10038, People's Republic of China.,Department of Water Ecology and Environment, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing, 100038, People's Republic of China
| | - Jinlong Hu
- Laboratory of Eco-Environmental Engineering Research, State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Soil Health and Green Remediation, College of Resources and Environment, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei, People's Republic of China
| | - Mingzhi Zhou
- Laboratory of Eco-Environmental Engineering Research, State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Soil Health and Green Remediation, College of Resources and Environment, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei, People's Republic of China
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11
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Zhao M, Tang X, Sun D, Hou L, Liu M, Zhao Q, Klümper U, Quan Z, Gu JD, Han P. Salinity gradients shape the nitrifier community composition in Nanliu River Estuary sediments and the ecophysiology of comammox Nitrospira inopinata. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2021; 795:148768. [PMID: 34247082 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148768] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2021] [Revised: 06/24/2021] [Accepted: 06/27/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
The recent discovery of complete ammonia oxidizers (comammox), which convert ammonia to nitrate in a single organism, revolutionized the conventional understanding that two types of nitrifying microorganisms have to be involved in the nitrification process for more than 100 years. However, how different types of nitrifiers in response to salinity change remains largely unclear. This study not only investigated nitrifier community (including ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA), ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB), comammox and nitrite-oxidizing Nitrospira) in the Nanliu estuary to find the ecological relationship between salinity and functional communities and also studied the physiology of a typical comammox Nitrospira inopinata in response to a salinity gradient. Based on sequences retrieved with four sets of functional gene primes, comammox Nitrospira was in general, mainly composed of clade A, with a clear separation of clade A1 subgroup in all samples and clade A2 subgroup in low salinity ones. As expected, group I.1b and group I.1a AOA dominated the AOA community in low- and high-salinity samples, respectively. Nitrosomonas-AOB were detected in all samples while Nitrosospira-AOB were mainly found in relatively high-salinity samples. Regarding general Nitrospira, lineages II and IV were the major groups in most of the samples, while lineage I Nitrospira was only detected in low-salinity samples. Furthermore, the comammox pure culture of N. inopinata showed an optimal salinity at 0.5‰ and ceased to grow at 12.8‰ for ammonia oxidation, but remained active for nitrite oxidation. These results show new evidence regarding niche specificity of different nitrifying microorganisms modulated mainly by salinity, and also a clear response by comammox N. inopinata to a wide range of simulated salinity levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mengyue Zhao
- Key Laboratory of Geographic Information Science (Ministry of Education), School of Geographic Sciences, East China Normal University, 500 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Xiufeng Tang
- Key Laboratory of Geographic Information Science (Ministry of Education), School of Geographic Sciences, East China Normal University, 500 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Dongyao Sun
- Key Laboratory of Geographic Information Science (Ministry of Education), School of Geographic Sciences, East China Normal University, 500 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Lijun Hou
- State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, East China Normal University, 500 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Min Liu
- Key Laboratory of Geographic Information Science (Ministry of Education), School of Geographic Sciences, East China Normal University, 500 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200241, China; Institute of Eco-Chongming, East China Normal University, 3663 North Zhongshan Road, Shanghai 200062, China
| | - Qiang Zhao
- Key Laboratory of Geographic Information Science (Ministry of Education), School of Geographic Sciences, East China Normal University, 500 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Uli Klümper
- Institute for Hydrobiology, Technische Universität Dresden, 01062 Dresden, Germany
| | - Zhexue Quan
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, Institute of Biodiversity Science, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China
| | - Ji-Dong Gu
- Environmental Engineering, Guangdong Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, 241 Daxue Road, Shantou, Guangdong 515063, China
| | - Ping Han
- Key Laboratory of Geographic Information Science (Ministry of Education), School of Geographic Sciences, East China Normal University, 500 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200241, China; State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, East China Normal University, 500 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200241, China; Institute of Eco-Chongming, East China Normal University, 3663 North Zhongshan Road, Shanghai 200062, China.
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12
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Xia F, Jiang QY, Zhu T, Zou B, Liu H, Quan ZX. Ammonium promoting methane oxidation by stimulating the Type Ia methane-oxidizing bacteria in tidal flat sediments of the Yangtze River estuary. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2021; 793:148470. [PMID: 34166901 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148470] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2021] [Revised: 06/10/2021] [Accepted: 06/11/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Estuary and coastal environments have essential ecosystem functions in greenhouse gas sinks and removal of nitrogen pollution. Methane-oxidizing bacteria (MOB) and ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) communities play critical functions in the estuary's tidal flat sediments. Therefore, the effects of ammonium on MOB communities and methane on AOB communities need to be further explained. In this study, microcosm incubations with different contents of ammonium or methane were conducted for a relatively short (24 h) or long (28 days) period with tidal flat sediments from the Yangtze River estuary. Subsequently, the tagged highly degenerate primer PCR and DNA-based stable isotope probing method were employed to demonstrate the effects on MOB and AOB populations. The results indicated that the methane consumption was enhanced with ammonium supplements within 24 h of incubation. Supplement of 2 μmol/g d.w.s (μmol per gram dry weight soil) NH4+ increased the amount of MOB and its proportion to the total bacteria (p < 0.05) for 28 days incubation. The ammonium supplement increased the proportion of Methylomonas and Methylobacter based on the 16S rRNA gene. According to the functional gene analysis, the MOB primarily engaged in methane oxidation include Methylomonas, Methylobacter, Methylomicrobium, and Methylosarcina, which were associated with Type Ia MOB. It suggested that ammonium supplement may promote methane oxidation by stimulating the Type Ia MOB in tidal flat sediments of the Yangtze River estuary. The current research helps understand the effect of ammonium on methane consumption in the estuary and coastal environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fei Xia
- School of Food and Biological Engineering, Shaanxi University of Science and Technology, Xi'an 710021, China; Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Qiu-Yue Jiang
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Ting Zhu
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Bin Zou
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Huan Liu
- School of Food and Biological Engineering, Shaanxi University of Science and Technology, Xi'an 710021, China
| | - Zhe-Xue Quan
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
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13
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Tao Y, Zhang L, Su Z, Dai T, Zhang Y, Huang B, Wen D. Nitrogen-cycling gene pool shrunk by species interactions among denser bacterial and archaeal community stimulated by excess organic matter and total nitrogen in a eutrophic bay. MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2021; 169:105397. [PMID: 34157564 DOI: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2021.105397] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2020] [Revised: 06/13/2021] [Accepted: 06/14/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Microbial densities, functional genes, and their responses to environment factors have been studied for years, but still a lot remains unknown about their interactions with each other. In this study, the abundances of 7 nitrogen cycling genes in the sediments from Hangzhou Bay were analyzed along with bacterial and archaeal 16S rRNA abundances as the biomarkers of their densities. The amount of organic matter (OM) and total nitrogen (TN) strongly positively correlated with each other and microbial densities, while total phosphate (TP) and ammonia-nitrogen (NH3-N) did not. Most studied genes were density suppressed, while nirS was density stable, and nosZ and hzo were density irrelevant. This suggests eutrophication could limit inorganic nitrogen cycle pathways and the removal of nitrogen in the sediment and emit more greenhouse gases. This study provides a new insight of microbial community structures, functions and their interactions in the sediments of eutrophic bays.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yile Tao
- College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China; Institute of Environmental Engineering, ETH Zurich, Zurich, 8093, Switzerland; Advanced Analytical Technologies, Empa, Ueberlandstrasse 129, 8600, Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | - Liyue Zhang
- College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
| | - Zhiguo Su
- College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
| | - Tianjiao Dai
- College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China; State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Yan Zhang
- School of Environmental and Civil Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, China
| | - Bei Huang
- Zhejiang Provincial Zhoushan Marine Ecological Environmental Monitoring Station, Zhoushan, 316021, China
| | - Donghui Wen
- College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China.
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14
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Wang DQ, Zhou CH, Nie M, Gu JD, Quan ZX. Abundance and niche specificity of different types of complete ammonia oxidizers (comammox) in salt marshes covered by different plants. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2021; 768:144993. [PMID: 33736320 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.144993] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2020] [Revised: 12/24/2020] [Accepted: 12/31/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
The recently discovered complete ammonia oxidizers (comammox), which are ubiquitous in various natural and artificial ecosystems, have led to a paradigm shift in our understanding of aerobic nitrification. The coastal salt marsh covered by various plant species is an important ecosystem to link nitrogen cycles of terrestrial and marine environments; however, the distribution and structure of comammox in such ecosystems have not been clearly investigated. Here, we applied quantitative PCR and partial nested-PCR to investigate the abundance and community composition of comammox in salt marsh sediment samples covered by three plant types along the southern coastline of China. Our results showed a predominance of comammox clade A in majority of the samples, suggesting their ubiquity and the important role they play in nitrification in salt marsh ecosystems. However, variations by the sites were found when comparing the abundance of subclades of comammox clade A. Redundancy analysis demonstrated a coexistence pattern by comammox clade A.1 with ammonia-oxidizing archaea and comammox clade A.2 with canonical ammonia-oxidizing bacteria, indicating their differences in potential niche preference. However, the abundance of comammox clade B was lower than that of comammox clade A and other ammonia oxidizers in most samples. Moreover, pH and salinity were found to be the most significant factors affecting comammox community structures, suggesting their roles in driving niche partitioning of comammox, whereas plant types did not show a significant effect on the comammox community structure. Our study provided insights into the abundance, community diversity, and niche partitions of comammox, broadening the current understanding of the relationship of comammox with other ammonia oxidizers in salt marsh ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dan-Qi Wang
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, Institute of Biodiversity Science, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, People's Republic of China
| | - Chen-Hao Zhou
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, Institute of Biodiversity Science, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, People's Republic of China
| | - Ming Nie
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, Institute of Biodiversity Science, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, People's Republic of China
| | - Ji-Dong Gu
- Environmental Engineering, Guangdong Technion Israel Institute of Technology, 241 Daxue Road, Shantou, Guangdong 515063, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhe-Xue Quan
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, Institute of Biodiversity Science, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, People's Republic of China.
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15
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Primer evaluation and development of a droplet digital PCR protocol targeting amoA genes for the quantification of Comammox in lakes. Sci Rep 2021; 11:2982. [PMID: 33536606 PMCID: PMC7858572 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-82613-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2020] [Accepted: 01/22/2021] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
To date, little is known about the ecological significance of Comammox (COMplete AMMonia OXidizers) Nitrospira in the water column of freshwater lakes. Water samples collected along depth profiles were used to investigate the distribution of Comammox in 13 lakes characterized by a wide range of physicochemical properties. Several published primers, which target the α-subunit of the ammonia monooxygenase, generated non-specific PCR products or did not amplify target genes from lake water and other habitats. Therefore, a new primer set has been designed for specific detection of Comammox in lakes. The high specificity of the PCR assay was confirmed by sequencing analysis. Quantification of Comammox amoA genes in lake water samples based on droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) revealed very low abundances (not exceeding 85 amoA copies ml-1), which suggest that Comammox is of minor importance for the nitrification process in the water column of the study sites. Surprisingly, samples taken from the sediment/water-interface along an oxygen gradient in dimictic Piburger See showed Comammox abundances three to four magnitudes higher than in the pelagic realm of the lake, which indicates a preference of Comammox to a particle-attached lifestyle.
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16
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Wang X, Lu L, Zhou X, Tang X, Kuang L, Chen J, Shan J, Lu H, Qin H, Adams J, Wang B. Niche Differentiation of Comammox Nitrospira in the Mudflat and Reclaimed Agricultural Soils Along the North Branch of Yangtze River Estuary. Front Microbiol 2021; 11:618287. [PMID: 33584582 PMCID: PMC7873905 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.618287] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2020] [Accepted: 12/15/2020] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
The discovery of complete ammonia oxidation (comammox), oxidizing ammonia to nitrate via nitrite in a single organism, has redefined the traditional recognition of the two-step nitrification driven by two functional groups (ammonia-oxidizing and nitrite-oxidizing microorganisms). However, the understanding of the distribution and niche differentiation of comammox Nitrospira in the estuarine mudflats and their reclaimed agricultural soils is still limited. Here, we investigated the abundance, diversity and community structures of comammox Nitrospira in the mudflats and the reclaimed agricultural soils in the northern Yangtze River estuary. Quantitative PCR showed the abundances of amoA genes of comammox were lower than that of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) in nearly all samples. Amplicon sequencing of amoA genes revealed that the community structures of comammox Nitrospira were significantly (P < 0.001) different between the original mudflats and the reclaimed agricultural soils, indicating niche differentiation among comammox Nitrospira clades (clade A.1, clade A.2, and clade B). The clade A.1 was the dominant group of comammox Nitrospira in the mudflats, while clade B predominated in the agricultural soils. However, the members of clade A.2 could be clearly divided into two groups, the mudflat-preferred and agricultural soil-preferred groups, suggesting more complicated ecological preferences within this sub-clade. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that salinity, organic matter (OM) and NO3–-N had a significantly influence on the distribution of comammox Nitrospira in the estuarine environment. Clade A.1 and nearly half members of clade A.2 were positively correlated with salinity, and negatively correlated with the concentrations of OM and NO3–-N. In contrast, the clade B and the other half members of clade A.2 showed the exact opposite pattern: a negative correlation with salinity and positive correlation with OM and NO3–-N. The co-occurrence network demonstrated that the operational taxonomic units (OTUs) within the same (sub-)clade were mostly positively correlated, indicating the similar niche preferences among the members from the same (sub-)clade of comammox Nitrospira. Taken together, our results revealed the niche differentiation of comammox Nitrospira in estuarine ecosystems where salinity and OM were the primary factors responsible for the distinct ecological distribution patterns.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinxin Wang
- College of Environmental Science and Engineering, China West Normal University, Nanchong, China.,Department of Environmental Engineering, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China.,State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, China
| | - Lu Lu
- College of Environmental Science and Engineering, China West Normal University, Nanchong, China
| | - Xue Zhou
- College of Agricultural Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing, China
| | - Xiufeng Tang
- State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, China
| | - Lu Kuang
- State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, China
| | - Junhui Chen
- Key State Laboratory of Subtropical Silviculture, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Jun Shan
- State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, China
| | - Huijie Lu
- Key Laboratory of Environment Remediation and Ecological Health, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Hua Qin
- Key State Laboratory of Subtropical Silviculture, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Jonathan Adams
- School of Geography and Ocean Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China
| | - Baozhan Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, China.,Key Lab of Microbiology for Agricultural Environment, Ministry of Agriculture, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
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17
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Santos JP, Sousa AGG, Ribeiro H, Magalhães C. The Response of Estuarine Ammonia-Oxidizing Communities to Constant and Fluctuating Salinity Regimes. Front Microbiol 2020; 11:574815. [PMID: 33324363 PMCID: PMC7727400 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.574815] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2020] [Accepted: 11/02/2020] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Aerobic nitrification is a fundamental nitrogen biogeochemical process that links the oxidation of ammonia to the removal of fixed nitrogen in eutrophicated water bodies. However, in estuarine environments there is an enormous variability of water physicochemical parameters that can affect the ammonia oxidation biological process. For instance, it is known that salinity can affect nitrification performance, yet there is still a lack of information on the ammonia-oxidizing communities behavior facing daily salinity fluctuations. In this work, laboratory experiments using upstream and downstream estuarine sediments were performed to address this missing gap by comparing the effect of daily salinity fluctuations with constant salinity on the activity and diversity of ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms (AOM). Activity and composition of AOM were assessed, respectively by using nitrogen stable isotope technique and 16S rRNA gene metabarcoding analysis. Nitrification activity was negatively affected by daily salinity fluctuations in upstream sediments while no effect was observed in downstream sediments. Constant salinity regime showed clearly higher rates of nitrification in upstream sediments while a similar nitrification performance between the two salinity regimes was registered in the downstream sediments. Results also indicated that daily salinity fluctuation regime had a negative effect on both ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) community’s diversity. Phylogenetically, the estuarine downstream AOM were dominated by AOA (0.92–2.09%) followed by NOB (0.99–2%), and then AOB (0.2–0.32%); whereas NOB dominated estuarine upstream sediment samples (1.4–9.5%), followed by AOA (0.27–0.51%) and AOB (0.01–0.23%). Analysis of variance identified the spatial difference between samples (downstream and upstream) as the main drivers of AOA and AOB diversity. Our study indicates that benthic AOM inhabiting different estuarine sites presented distinct plasticity toward the salinity regimes tested. These findings help to improve our understanding in the dynamics of the nitrogen cycle of estuarine systems by showing the resilience and consequently the impact of different salinity regimes on the diversity and activity of ammonia oxidizer communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- João Pereira Santos
- Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental (CIIMAR), Universidade do Porto, Terminal de Cruzeiros do Porto de Leixões, Matosinhos, Portugal.,Department F.A. Forel for Environmental and Aquatic Sciences, Section of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Institute for Environmental Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - António G G Sousa
- Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental (CIIMAR), Universidade do Porto, Terminal de Cruzeiros do Porto de Leixões, Matosinhos, Portugal
| | - Hugo Ribeiro
- Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental (CIIMAR), Universidade do Porto, Terminal de Cruzeiros do Porto de Leixões, Matosinhos, Portugal.,Abel Salazar Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of Porto (ICBAS-UP), Porto, Portugal
| | - Catarina Magalhães
- Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental (CIIMAR), Universidade do Porto, Terminal de Cruzeiros do Porto de Leixões, Matosinhos, Portugal.,Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal.,School of Science & Engineering, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand.,Ocean Frontier Institute, Dalhousie University, Halitax, NS, Canada
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18
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Liu Z, Zhang C, Wei Q, Zhang S, Quan Z, Li M. Temperature and salinity drive comammox community composition in mangrove ecosystems across southeastern China. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2020; 742:140456. [PMID: 32629251 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140456] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2020] [Revised: 06/21/2020] [Accepted: 06/21/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Complete ammonia-oxidizing (comammox) microorganisms are newly recognized nitrifying bacteria found in natural and engineered ecosystems. Mangrove ecosystems are hotspots for nitrogen cycling, but the knowledge of comammox diversity and abundance, and particularly, driving factors, in these ecosystems is scarce. We here used deep sequencing to investigate comammox diversity in six mangrove ecosystems across southeastern China. Our results showed that comammox microorganisms in mangrove sediments were extremely diverse. Phylogenetic analysis revealed a novel comammox group within clade A that formed a distinct cluster for which no reference sequence existed, implying their potential uniqueness. Quantitative PCR demonstrated that comammox abundance was slightly higher than that of the canonical ammonia-oxidizing bacteria but significantly lower than that of ammonia-oxidizing archaea, indicating they are not the dominant ammonia oxidizers in mangrove ecosystems. Finally, variation partition analysis revealed a significant decrease in similarity of comammox communities along the geographical distance, and a pronounced effect of the geographic factors and sediment attributes on the composition of comammox microorganisms and the abundance variations of ammonia oxidizers. Temperature and salinity were the most important contributing factors that shaped the comammox community. Further, detection of diverse comammox microorganisms in extremely high-salinity sediments suggested that this community could adapt to high salinity environments, which indicates salinity may not be a critical factor resulting in the absence of comammox microorganisms in open-ocean environments. This study expanded the current understanding of the diversity and niche preference of comammox in mangrove ecosystems, and further enhanced our understanding of adaptation potential of comammox communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zongbao Liu
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Marine Microbiome Engineering, Institute for Advanced Study, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, PR China
| | - Cuijing Zhang
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Marine Microbiome Engineering, Institute for Advanced Study, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, PR China
| | - Qiaoyan Wei
- School of Life and Environmental Science, Guilin University of Electronic Technology, Guilin, Guangxi, PR China
| | - Siyu Zhang
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Marine Microbiome Engineering, Institute for Advanced Study, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, PR China
| | - Zhexue Quan
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, Institute of Biodiversity Science, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, PR China
| | - Meng Li
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Marine Microbiome Engineering, Institute for Advanced Study, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, PR China.
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19
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Lin C, Xu H, Qin W, Xu S, Tang X, Kuang L, Wang X, Jiang B, Chen J, Shan J, Adams J, Qin H, Wang B. Evaluation of Two Primer Sets for Amplification of Comammox Nitrospira amoA Genes in Wetland Soils. Front Microbiol 2020; 11:560942. [PMID: 33101233 PMCID: PMC7555835 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.560942] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2020] [Accepted: 09/10/2020] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
After the discovery of complete ammonia-oxidizing (comammox) Nitrospira, detection and assessments of the contribution of comammox Nitrospira communities to nitrogen cycling are in great demand. PCR-based approach, a common method for the detection of comammox, depends strongly on accurate amplification of the amoA genes from the original DNA samples using appropriate primers. In this study, we reported an evaluation of the performance of two commonly used primer sets, Ntsp-amoA 162F/359R and comaA/B-244f/659r, for amplifying the comammox amoA genes from three representative wetland soils in China [Sangsang (SS), Sanjiang (SJ), and Xianghai (XH)]. Our results demonstrated the two primer sets could both successfully amplify the clades with high relative abundances (RA), and further revealed a broadly similar diversity and community composition of dominant comammox operational taxonomic units (OTUs) (RA ≥ 1%) in each of the three wetland soils. However, the clades with low RA, such as the clade A (1.26%) in SJ and the clade B (11.54%) in XH that were recovered by metagenomics analysis, failed to be amplified using comaA/B-244f/659r, but were successfully amplified and sequenced using Ntsp-amoA 162F/359R. It indicated that, compared to comaA/B-244f/659r, Ntsp-amoA 162F/359R was more sensitive to the clades with low RA. However, it is worth noting that Ntsp-amoA 162F/359R would overestimate the RA of some rare clades. For example, the RAs of clade B in XH were overestimated by 32-fold. Furthermore, high levels of non-target amplification were detected via gel electrophoresis using both primer sets, especially for comammox Clade B amoA genes, implying that we should treat qPCR results based on these primers with caution. Taken together, our study comprehensively compared the performance of the two primer sets on the sensitivity and specificity of amplifying comammox amoA genes in three wetland soils, pointing out the necessity of further development of new primers for the efficient and accurate detection of comammox in various environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chenshuo Lin
- State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Silviculture, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou, China.,Key Laboratory of Integrated Regulation and Resource Development on Shallow Lake of Ministry of Education, College of Environment, Hohai University, Nanjing, China
| | - Hang Xu
- Key Laboratory of Integrated Regulation and Resource Development on Shallow Lake of Ministry of Education, College of Environment, Hohai University, Nanjing, China
| | - Wei Qin
- Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, United States
| | - Shaoyi Xu
- Key Laboratory of Environment Remediation and Ecological Health, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Xiufeng Tang
- State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, China
| | - Lu Kuang
- State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, China
| | - Xinxin Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, China
| | - Bin Jiang
- Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen, China
| | - Junhui Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Silviculture, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Jun Shan
- State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, China
| | - Jonathan Adams
- School of Geography and Ocean Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China
| | - Hua Qin
- State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Silviculture, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Baozhan Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, China.,Key Laboratory of Microbiological Engineering of Agricultural Environment, Ministry of Agriculture, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
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20
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Wang X, Wang S, Jiang Y, Zhou J, Han C, Zhu G. Comammox bacterial abundance, activity, and contribution in agricultural rhizosphere soils. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2020; 727:138563. [PMID: 32334221 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.138563] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2020] [Revised: 03/22/2020] [Accepted: 04/07/2020] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
The newly identified complete ammonia oxidation (comammox), which is capable of oxidizing ammonia directly to nitrate, has complemented our knowledge of nitrification in the global nitrogen (N) cycle. However, understanding the contribution and ecological roles of comammox in complex soil environments is still in its infancy. Here, the community structure and function of comammox and the interactions with other ammonia oxidation processes in rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere soils of four different crop fields (maize, cotton, soybean, and millet) were investigated in summer and winter. The only identified comammox species Candidatus Nitrospira nitrificans was widely distributed in all sampled soils. Comammox bacterial abundance was lower than that of ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) and ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB). The measured comammox potential rate ranged from 0.01 ± 0.002 to 0.40 ± 0.02 mg N kg-1 d-1, contributing <19.2 and 22.1% to ammonia oxidation in summer and winter, the remainder being due to AOA and AOB. The potential rate and community composition of comammox bacteria were significantly different on a temporal scale, while crop species and soil types (rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere) showed no obvious influences. In terms of oxidation rates, AOA (1.2 ± 0.7 mg N kg-1 d-1) dominated the ammonia oxidation in agricultural soils over AOB (0.31 ± 0.1 mg N kg-1 d-1) and comammox (0.2 ± 0.1 mg N kg-1 d-1). Both anammox bacterial abundance and activity were below the detection limits, indicating a negligible contribution of anammox in agricultural rhizosphere soils. The identification of comammox bacterial abundance and activity in situ enriches our knowledge of nitrification in agricultural systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaomin Wang
- Key Laboratory of Drinking Water Science and Technology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Shanyun Wang
- Key Laboratory of Drinking Water Science and Technology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China
| | - Yingying Jiang
- Key Laboratory of Drinking Water Science and Technology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China
| | - Jiemin Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Drinking Water Science and Technology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China
| | - Chang Han
- Key Laboratory of Drinking Water Science and Technology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China
| | - Guibing Zhu
- Key Laboratory of Drinking Water Science and Technology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
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21
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Xu Y, Lu J, Wang Y, Liu G, Wan X, Hua Y, Zhu D, Zhao J. Diversity and abundance of comammox bacteria in the sediments of an urban lake. J Appl Microbiol 2020; 128:1647-1657. [PMID: 31989773 DOI: 10.1111/jam.14593] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2019] [Revised: 01/19/2020] [Accepted: 01/21/2020] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
AIMS Although comammox have been discovered in a variety of ecosystems, there are few studies in urban lakes. This paper attempted to confirm whether this ammonia-oxidizing microbe exists in urban lakes and to determine the factors influencing its existence. METHODS AND RESULTS This study investigated the diversity and abundance of comammox bacteria in sediments of a typical urban lake in China, and their ecological relationship with other ammonia-oxidizing micro-organisms. The phylogenetic analysis indicated that comammox clade A existed in the sediment of Lake Donghu, and the comammox bacteria co-existed with ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA), ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and anaerobic ammonia-oxidizing (anammox) bacteria in the sediment of this lake. The abundances of the ammonia monooxygenase subunit A (amoA) genes for comammox, AOA, AOB and anammox 16S rRNA were 2·43 × 108 , 1·07 × 108 , 3·24 × 107 and 3·21 × 1011 copies per gram dry sediment respectively. Moreover, the amoA gene abundance of comammox was positively correlated with that of AOA and AOB. The redundancy analysis showed that the abundance of the comammox amoA gene was negatively correlated with the concentration of main indicators for nitrogen status in both the sediment and the water column, indicating that eutrophication may inhibit the growth of comammox bacteria. CONCLUSIONS Comammox bacteria play an important ecological role in the nitrogen cycle of urban lake sediments. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY Our results indicated comammox bacteria were widespread in urban lakes and eutrophication may inhibit their growth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Y Xu
- Laboratory of Eco-Environmental Engineering Research of Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China.,Key Laboratory of Arable Land Conservation (Middle and Lower Reaches of Yangtze River), Ministry of Agriculture, Wuhan, China
| | - J Lu
- Australian Rivers Institute, Griffith University, Nathan, Qld, Australia
| | - Y Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, Beijing, China.,Department of Water Environment, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing, China
| | - G Liu
- Laboratory of Eco-Environmental Engineering Research of Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China.,Key Laboratory of Arable Land Conservation (Middle and Lower Reaches of Yangtze River), Ministry of Agriculture, Wuhan, China
| | - X Wan
- Laboratory of Eco-Environmental Engineering Research of Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China.,Key Laboratory of Arable Land Conservation (Middle and Lower Reaches of Yangtze River), Ministry of Agriculture, Wuhan, China
| | - Y Hua
- Laboratory of Eco-Environmental Engineering Research of Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China.,Key Laboratory of Arable Land Conservation (Middle and Lower Reaches of Yangtze River), Ministry of Agriculture, Wuhan, China
| | - D Zhu
- Laboratory of Eco-Environmental Engineering Research of Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China.,Key Laboratory of Arable Land Conservation (Middle and Lower Reaches of Yangtze River), Ministry of Agriculture, Wuhan, China
| | - J Zhao
- Laboratory of Eco-Environmental Engineering Research of Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China.,Key Laboratory of Arable Land Conservation (Middle and Lower Reaches of Yangtze River), Ministry of Agriculture, Wuhan, China
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