Effects of temperature on the composition and diversity of bacterial communities in bamboo soils at different elevations

Abstract

Bamboo is an important resource distributed in mountain areas in Asia. Little is known about the impact of temperature changes on bamboo soil bacterial communities. In this study, responses of bacterial communities collected at 600, 1200, and 1800g m to different incubation temperatures (15, 20, and 35g °C) were examined using barcoded pyrosequencing and soil analyses. Soil respiration was greater at higher elevation and incubation temperature. The bacterial diversity decreased after 112 days of incubation at 35g °C. Before incubation, Acidobacteria and Proteobacteria were the most abundant phyla in all communities. The relative abundance of Acidobacteria generally decreased after 112 days of incubation at the three temperatures. α-Proteobacteria showed a similar trend, while 3-Proteobacteria increased after incubation, except in samples from 1800g m incubated at 35g °C. Non-metric multi-dimensional scaling analysis revealed structural variability under different incubation times and temperatures. Principal component analysis indicated that the bacterial structure in samples incubated at 35g °C correlated with temperature and soil respiration, while structures in samples incubated at 15 and 20g °C correlated with time. These results suggest that a temperature rise could result in increasing soil respiration and soluble carbon and nitrogen consumption as well as differentially influence bacterial diversity and structure at different elevations.