Southern Appalachian Peatlands Support High Archaeal Diversity

ASU Author/Contributor (non-ASU co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Suzanna Brauer Ph.D., Associate Professor (Creator)
Ashley Nicole Hawkins (Creator)
Institution
Appalachian State University (ASU )
Web Site: https://library.appstate.edu/

Abstract: Mid-latitude peatlands with a temperate cli- mate are sparsely studied and as such represent a gap in the current knowledge base regarding archaeal popu- lations present and their roles in these environments. Phylogenetic analysis of the archaeal populations among three peatlands in the Southern Appalachians reveal not only methanogenic species but also significant popula- tions of thaumarchaeal and crenarchaeal-related organ- isms of the uncultured miscellaneous crenarchaeotal group (MCG) and the terrestrial group 1.1c, as well as deep-branching Euryarchaeota primarily within the Lake Dagow sediment and rice cluster V lineages. The Thaum/Crenarchaea and deep-branching Euryarchaea represented approximately 24–83 % and 2–18 %, re- spectively, of the total SSU rRNA clones retrieved in each library, and methanogens represented approximate- ly 14–72 % of the clones retrieved. Several taxa that are either rare or novel to acidic peatlands were detected including the euryarchaeal SM1K20 cluster and thaumarchaeal/crenarchaeal-related clusters 1.1a, C3, SAGMCG-1, pSL12, and AK59. All three major groups (methanogens, Thaumarchaea/Crenarchaea, and deep- branching Euryarchaea) were detected in the RNA li- brary, suggesting at least a minimum level of mainte- nance activity. Compared to their northern counterparts, Southern Appalachian peatlands appear to harbor a rel- atively high diversity of Archaea and exhibit a high level of intra-site heterogeneity.

Additional Information

Publication
Hawkins Ashley N, Johnson KW, Bräuer Suzanna L. 2014. “Southern Appalachian Peatlands Support High Archaeal Diversity”. Microbial Ecology. 67(3):587-602 (April 2014). Published by Springer Science & Business. DIO 10.1007/s00248-013-0352-7 (ISSN: 0095-3628)
Language: English
Date: 2014
Keywords
Appalachian peatlands, high archael diversity, mid-latitude peatlands, methanogenic species

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