Carrero Figueroa, Katherine

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    Microbial characterization of an unmined porphyry deposit at Bosque del Pueblo (Adjuntas, PR)
    (2011) Carrero Figueroa, Katherine; Massol DeyĆ”, Arturo A.; College of Arts and Sciences - Sciences; Santos Flores, Carlos J.; RodrĆ­guez Minguela, Carlos; Department of Biology; Siberio Torres, Victor
    The results from this work demonstrated the relationship between vegetation cover and the diversity of soil bacterial communities from two sites in an abandoned unmined porphyry deposit at Bosque del Pueblo, Adjuntas, PR. The sampling sites were named as EstacioĢn Bosque (EB), located within the secondary forest and cover by vegetation; and EstacioĢn Mina (EM) which is deforested and lies adjacent to the forest. The aims of this study were i) to characterize the diversity of soil bacterial community at two sites using PCR-amplified 16S rDNA clone libraries and terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP, or TRF) analyses, and ii) to correlate the sitesā€™ bacterial diversity to physical and chemical properties of soil and water streams at these locations. Both 16S rDNA phylogenetic analysis and T-RFLP profiles revealed that the bacterial communities in secondary forest soil samples were distinct from those in deforested soils and that similarities in bacterial community composition were detected within the forested soil samples as well as within the deforested soil samples. The collection of sequences from EstacioĢn Bosque were dominated by members of Acidobacteria (35%), followed by Proteobacteria (31%) members. Whereas the clone sequences detected in EstacioĢn Mina were more closely related to members of phylum Choloflexi (40%). According to Shannon index (H) the bacterial composition was more diverse in the EstacioĢn Bosque than in EstacioĢn Mina. In terms of the physico-chemical properties of soil and water streams at the sites, the organic matter, organic carbon, and total nitrogen content in the forested soil samples were higher than the corresponding content in deforested soil samples. Furthermore, water samples taken from the deforested site exhibited higher conductivity, acidity, and metal ions concentrations than samples from the forested site. It is concluded that a shift in vegetation cover from secondary forest to deforested soil induces changes in the physico-chemical properties of soil and water streams in Bosque del Pueblo that in turn influence the soil bacterial diversity.