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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Microbiotechnology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1433046

Exploring the distribution and co-occurrence of rpf-like genes and nitrogen-cycling genes in water reservoir sediments

Provisionally accepted
Aiqin Hou Aiqin Hou 1Huayi Fu Huayi Fu 1Leilei Liu Leilei Liu 2Shusheng Zhang Shusheng Zhang 2Jiahou Lai Jiahou Lai 2Faqian SUN Faqian SUN 1Xiaomei SU Xiaomei SU 1*
  • 1 Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China
  • 2 The Management Center of Wuyanling National Natural Reserve in Zhejiang, Wenzhou, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Water reservoir sediments represent a distinct habitat that harbors diverse microbial resources crucial for nitrogen cycling processes. The discovery of resuscitation promoting factor (Rpf) has been recognized as a crucial development in understanding the potential of microbial populations. However, our understanding of the relationship between microorganisms containing rpf-like genes and nitrogencycling functional populations remains limited. The present study explored the distribution patterns of rpf-like genes and nitrogen-cycling genes in various water reservoir sediments, along with their correlation with environmental factors.Additionally, the co-occurrence of rpf-like genes with genes associated with the nitrogen cycle and viable but non-culturable (VBNC) formation was investigated. The findings indicated the ubiquitous occurrence of Rpf-like domains and their related genes in the examined reservoir sediments. Notably, rpf-like genes were predominantly associated with Bradyrhizobium, Nitrospira, and Anaeromyxobacter, with pH emerging as the primary influencing factor for their distribution. Genera such as Nitrospira, Bradyrhizobium, Anaeromyxobacter, and Dechloromonas harbor the majority of nitrogen-cycling functional genes, particularly denitrification genes. The distribution of nitrogen-cycling microbial communities in the reservoir sediments was mainly influenced by pH and NH4 + . Notably, correlation network analysis revealed close connections between microorganisms containing rpf-like genes and nitrogen-cycling functional populations, as well as VBNC bacteria. These findings offer new insights into the prevalence of rpf-like genes in the water reservoir sediments and their correlation with nitrogen-cycling microbial communities, enhancing our understanding of the significant potential of microbial nitrogen cycling.

    Keywords: Reservoir sediments, Rpf-like genes, Nitrogen-cycling genes, microbial community, Co-occurrence network

    Received: 15 May 2024; Accepted: 12 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Hou, Fu, Liu, Zhang, Lai, SUN and SU. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Xiaomei SU, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China

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