Culture-dependent and -independent methods revealed an abundant myxobacterial community shaped by other bacteria and pH in Dinghushan acidic soils

PLoS One. 2020 Sep 14;15(9):e0238769. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0238769. eCollection 2020.

Abstract

Myxobacteria are one of the most promising secondary metabolites producers. However, they are difficult to isolate and cultivate. To obtain more myxobacteria and know the effects of environmental factors on myxobacterial community, we characterized myxobacterial communities in Dinghushan acidic forest soils of pH 3.6-4.5 with culture-dependent and -independent techniques, and analyzed environmental factors shaping myxobacterial communities. A total of 21 myxobacteria were isolated using standard cultivation methods, including eleven isolates of Corallococcus, nine isolates of Myxococcus and one isolate of Archangium, and contained three potential novel species. In addition, a total of 67 unknown myxobacterial operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were obtained using high-throughput sequencing method. The abundance of Myxococcales account for 0.9-2.2% of bacterial communities, and Sorangium is the most abundant genus (60.1%) in Myxococcales. Correlation analysis demonstrated that bacterial diversity and soil pH are the key factors shaping myxobacterial community. These results revealed an abundant myxobacterial community which is shaped by other bacteria and pH in Dinghushan acidic forest soils.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Culture Techniques / methods*
  • Forests
  • High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing
  • Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
  • Myxococcales / genetics
  • Myxococcales / growth & development*
  • Myxococcales / isolation & purification*
  • RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / genetics
  • Soil / chemistry*
  • Soil Microbiology*

Substances

  • RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
  • Soil

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the National Science Foundation of China 31800003 (LYY) (http://www.nsfc.gov.cn/), the GDAS' Special Project of Science and Technology Development 2020GDASYL-20200103032 (WCL) (http://www.gdas.gd.cn/), the Guangdong Province Science and Technology Innovation Strategy Special Fund 2018B020205003 (FGD) (http://gdstc.gd.gov.cn/tzgg/), the Science and Technology Plan Project of Guangdong 2019B030316009 (LAZ) (http://pro.gdstc.gd.gov.cn/egrantweb/) and the Science and Technology Plan Project of Guangzhou 201704020088 (LAZ) (http://sop.gzsi.gov.cn/).