| Schellenberger, S; Kolb, S; Drake, HL: Metabolic Responses of Novel Cellulolytic and Saccharolytic Agricultural Soil Bacteria to Oxygen, Environmental Microbiology, 12 (4), 845-861 (2010) | |
| Abstract: Cellulose is the most abundant biopolymer in terrestrial ecosystems and is degraded by microbial communities in soils. However, relatively little is known about the diversity and function of soil prokaryotes that might participate in the overall degradation of this biopolymer. The active cellulolytic and saccharolytic bacteria in an agricultural soil were evaluated by 16S rRNA 13C-based stable isotope probing. Cellulose, cellobiose, and glucose were mineralized under oxic conditions in soil slurries to carbon dioxide. Under anoxic conditions, these substrates were converted primarily to acetate, butyrate, carbon dioxide, hydrogen, and traces of propionate and iso-butyrate; the production of these fermentation end products was concomitant with the apparent reduction of iron(III). [13C]cellulose was mainly degraded under oxic conditions by novel family-level taxa of the Bacteroidetes and Chloroflexi, and a known family-level taxon of Planctomycetes, whereas degradation under anoxic conditions was facilitated by the Kineosporiaceae (Actinobacteria) and cluster I Clostridiaceae, and novel clusters within Bacteroidetes. Active aerobic sub-communities in oxic [13C]cellobiose and [13C]glucose treatments were dominated by Intrasporangiaceae and Micrococcaceae (Actinobacteria) whereas active cluster III Clostridiaceae (Firmicutes) were prevalent in anoxic treatments. A very large number (i.e., 28) of the detected taxa did not closely affiliate with known families, and active archaea were not detected in any of the treatments. These collective findings suggest that (a) a large uncultured diversity of soil Bacteria was involved in the utilization of cellulose and products of its hydrolysis, (b) the active saccharolytic community differed phylogenetically from the active cellulolytic community, (c) oxygen availability impacted differentially on the activity of taxa, and (d) different redox guilds (e.g., fermenters and iron reducers) compete or interact during cellulose degradation in aerated soils. |
