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Ancient landscapes and the relationship with microbial nitrification

Lookup NU author(s): Dr Sasha Jenkins, Professor Stephen Rushton

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).


Abstract

Ammonia oxidizing archaea (AOA) and bacteria (AOB) drive nitrification and their population dynamics impact directly on the global nitrogen cycle. AOA predominate in the majority of soils but an increasing number of studies have found that nitrification is largely attributed to AOB. The reasons for this remain poorly understood. Here, amoA gene abundance was used to study the distribution of AOA and AOB in agricultural soils on different parent materials and in contrasting geologic landscapes across Australia (n = 135 sites). AOA and AOB abundances separated according to the geologic age of the parent rock with AOB higher in the more weathered, semi-arid soils of Western Australia. AOA dominated the younger, higher pH soils of Eastern Australia, independent of any effect of land management and fertilization. This differentiation reflects the age of the underlying parent material and has implications for our understanding of global patterns of nitrification and soil microbial diversity. Western Australian soils are derived from weathered archaean laterite and are acidic and copper deficient. Copper is a co-factor in the oxidation of ammonia by AOA but not AOB. Thus, copper deficiency could explain the unexpectedly low populations of AOA in Western Australian soils.


Publication metadata

Author(s): Jenkins SN, Murphy DV, Waite IS, Rushton SP, O'Donnell AG

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Scientific Reports

Year: 2016

Volume: 6

Online publication date: 02/08/2016

Acceptance date: 06/07/2016

Date deposited: 08/09/2016

ISSN (electronic): 2045-2322

Publisher: Nature Publishing Group

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/srep30733

DOI: 10.1038/srep30733


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Funding

Funder referenceFunder name
Australian Government (Department of Agriculture)
Australian Pork Limited (APL)
Australian Egg Corporation Limited (AECL) as part of the Filling the Research Gap programme
Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA)
Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC)
FT110100246ARC
FT110100246Australian Research Council (ARC)
UWA00142Grains Research and Development Corporation's Soil Biology Initiative II
UWA00138Grains Research and Development Corporation's Soil Biology Initiative II

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