ABSTRACT Variations in microbial communities promoted by alterations in environmental conditions are reflected in similarities/differences both at taxonomic and functional levels. Here we used a natural gradient within mangroves from seashore to upland, to contrast the natural variability in bacteria, cyanobacteria and diazotroph assemblages in a pristine area compared to an oil polluted area along a timespan of three years, based on ARISA (bacteria and cyanobacteria) and nifH T-RFLP (diazotrophs) fingerprinting. The data presented herein indicated that changes in all the communities evaluated were mainly driven by the temporal effect in the contaminated area, while local effects were dominant on the pristine mangrove. A positive correlation of community structure between diazotrophs and cyanobacteria was observed, suggesting the functional importance of this phylum as nitrogen fixers in mangroves soils. Different ecological patterns explained the microbial behavior in the pristine and polluted mangroves. Stochastic models in the pristine mangrove indicate that there is not a specific environmental factor that determines the bacterial distribution, while cyanobacteria and diazotrophs better fitted in deterministic model in the same area. For the contaminated mangrove site, deterministic models better represented the variations in the communities, suggesting that the presence of oil might change the microbial ecological structures over time. Mangroves represent a unique environment threatened by global change, and this study contributed to the knowledge of the microbial distribution in such areas and its response on persistent contamination historic events.

A plethora of microbial cells is present in every gram of soil, and microbes are found extensively in plant and animal tissues. The mechanisms governed by microorganisms in the regulation of physiological processes of their hosts have been extensively studied in the light of recent findings on microbiomes. In plants, the components of these microbiomes may form distinct communities, such as those inhabiting the plant rhizosphere, the endosphere and the phyllosphere. In each of these niches, the "microbial tissue" is established by, and responds to, specific selective pressures. Although there is no clear picture of the overall role of the plant microbiome, there is substantial evidence that these communities are involved in disease control, enhance nutrient acquisition, and affect stress tolerance. In this review, we first summarize features of microbial communities that compose the plant microbiome and further present a series of studies describing the underpinning factors that shape the phylogenetic and functional plant-associated communities. We advocate the idea that understanding the mechanisms by which plants select and interact with their microbiomes may have a direct effect on plant development and health, and further lead to the establishment of novel microbiome-driven strategies, that can cope with the development of a more sustainable agriculture.

A cultura da cana-de-açúcar é de extrema importância no cenário agrícola nacional. No entanto, pouco se sabe sobre a estruturação das comunidades microbianas associadas aos solos e às rizosferas de tais plantas. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a estrutura e diversidade das comunidades de bactérias associadas ao solo e à rizosfera de seis variedades de cana-de-açúcar cultivadas no Estado de São Paulo (Brasil). As análises foram realizadas com base em métodos independentes de cultivo, em que a técnica de PCR-DGGE revelou alterações na rizosfera para os grupos de bactérias totais e também para os grupos de Alphaproteobacteria e Betaproteobacteria. Após essa análise, quatro amostras (três de rizosfera e uma de solo) foram usadas para o sequenciamento da região V6 do gene 16S DNAr na plataforma Ion Torrent TM. Essa análise gerou um total de 95.812 sequências, dentro das quais houve a predominância das afiliadas aos filos Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria e Acidobateria . Os resultados revelaram que as comunidades bacterianas na rizosfera são distintas daquelas encontradas no solo. Foi possível ainda observar efeito diferencial de plantas das variedades. Alguns grupos bacterianos apresentaram menor frequência na rizosfera (Acidobacteria ), enquanto outros se mostraram fortemente estimulados pela presença das raízes, comumente para todas as variedades (Betaproteobacteria , Nitrospora e Chloroflexi ), ou em respostas variedade-específicas (Bacilli e Sphingobacteria ).

Sugarcane is an extremely important crop in Brazilian agriculture. However, little is known about the structure of microbial communities associated with the soils and rhizosphere of these plants. The aim of this study was to evaluate the structure and diversity of bacterial communities associated with the soil and rhizosphere of six sugarcane varieties grown in the State of São Paulo, Brazil. Analyses were carried out based on methods not dependent on the crop, where the PCR-DGGE technique revealed alterations in the rhizosphere for the total bacteria group, and also for the Alphaproteobacteria and Betaproteobacteria groups. After that analysis, four samples (three from the rhizosphere and one from the soil) were subjected to sequencing of the V6 region of the 16S rDNA gene using the IonTorrentTM platform. This approach generated 95,812 sequences, with the prevalence of those affiliated with the phyla Actinobacteria , Proteobacteria , and Acidobacteria . Results revealed that bacterial communities in the rhizosphere are distinct from those observed in soils. It was also possible to observe a differential selection performed by plants of different varieties. Some bacterial groups exhibited lower frequencies in the rhizosphere (Acidobacteria ), while others proved to be highly stimulated by the presence of roots, in a response common to all varieties (Betaproteobacteria , Nitrospora , and Chloroflexi ), or in variety-specific responses (Bacilli and Sphingobacteria ).