Depth-related distribution of bacterial community in sediments of eutrophic Guanting reservoir

In this study, DNAs were extracted from sediment samples at depths of 5, 35, and 69 cm from eutrophic Guanting reservoir, China. 16S rDNAs were amplified by PCR and clone libraries were constructed. The depth-related distribution of bacterial community in the sediment was characterized by using amplified 16S rDNA restriction analysis (ARDRA) and sequencing of the dominant clones. The results indicated that species diversity in the sediment of Guanting reservoir was rather high with the Shannon-Wiener index about 5.8. Bacterial richness varied in different depths: the highest in the sample of 35 cm in depth; followed by the sample of 5 cm in depth; and the lowest bacterial richness in the sample of 69 cm. Dominant species from the three samples were different although there were some common clones. Phylogenetic analysis showed that all of the dominant clones in the three layers were uncultured bacteria and distantly related to the previously reported species in beta or gamma subclass of proteobacteria, including bacterial groups that have the ability to degrade aromatic hydrocarbons, n-alkanes, chlorinated organic compounds, or to accumulate polyphosphate, etc. Changes of depth-related bacterial community in the Guanting reservoir sediment might reflect the pollution history and the water quality of the reservoir. In addition, the cloned sequences from the Guanting reservoir sediment were all different from the presently reported ones, indicating that there were some particular bacteria in that environment.