Leaf-litter-associated fungi and bacteria along temporal and environmental gradients in boreal streams

AME Aquatic Microbial Ecology Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsSpecials AME 73:225-234 (2014) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/ame01721 Leaf-litter-associated fungi and bacteria along temporal and environmental gradients in boreal streams Jenny Bergfur*, Carina Sundberg Department of Thematic Studies—Water and Environmental Science, Linköping University, 581 83 Linköping, Sweden *Corresponding author: jenny.bergfur@gmail.com ABSTRACT: Aquatic fungi and bacteria have long been recognized as key drivers in ecosystem processes such as leaf litter decomposition. We examined fungal and bacterial communities on decaying alder Alnus glutinosa (L.) Gaertner leaves along a gradient of increasing agricultural land use and associated nutrient enrichment in 9 boreal streams during 4 separate seasons (fall 2003, spring 2005, fall 2005, and spring 2006). Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and quantitative polymerase chain reactions (qPCR) showed that agricultural land use had significant effects on both bacterial and fungal communities, and on the ratios of fungi to total microbes associated with decomposing leaf litter. Furthermore, landscape factors and fluvial geomorphology appeared to influence the community composition of fungi and bacteria. Seasonal effects were found for fungal community structure only, indicating a higher temperature sensitivity of fungi compared to bacteria. KEY WORDS: Sweden · Leaf litter · DGGE · qPCR · Aquatic fungi · Aquatic bacteria · Season · Land use Full text in pdf format PreviousNextCite this article as: Bergfur J, Sundberg C (2014) Leaf-litter-associated fungi and bacteria along temporal and environmental gradients in boreal streams. Aquat Microb Ecol 73:225-234. https://doi.org/10.3354/ame01721 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in AME Vol. 73, No. 3. Online publication date: November 11, 2014 Print ISSN: 0948-3055; Online ISSN: 1616-1564 Copyright © 2014 Inter-Research.