Soil bacteria and fungi communities are shaped by elevation influences in Colombian forest and páramo natural ecosystems

The influence of elevation on natural terrestrial ecosystems determines the arrangements of microbial communities in soils to be associated with biotic and abiotic factors. To evaluate changes of fungi and bacteria at the community level along an elevational gradient (between 1000 and 3800 m.a.s.l.), physicochemical measurements of soils, taxonomic identifications of plants, and metabarcoding sequences of the 16S rRNA gene for bacteria and the ITS1 region for fungi were obtained. The bacterial taxonomic composition showed that Acidobacteriota increased in abundance with elevation, while Actinobacteriota and Verrucomicrobiota decreased. Furthermore, Firmicutes and Proteobacteria maintained maximum levels of abundance at intermediate elevations (1200 and 2400 m.a.s.l.). In fungi, Ascomycota was more abundant at higher elevations, Basidiomycota tended to dominate at lower elevations, and Mortierellomycota had a greater presence at intermediate sites. These results correlated with the edaphic parameters of decreasing pH and increasing organic carbon and available nitrogen with elevation. In addition, the Shannon index found a greater diversity in bacteria than fungi, but both showed a unimodal pattern with maximum values in the Andean Forest at 2400 m.a.s.l. Through the microbial characterization of the ecosystems, the elevational gradient, soil properties, and vegetation were found to exert significant effects on microbial communities and alpha diversity indices. We conclude that the most abundant soil microorganisms at the sampling points differed in abundance and diversity according to the variations in factors influencing ecological communities. (AU)

Exploring Genomics and Microbial Ecology: Analysis of Bidens pilosa L. Genetic Structure and Soil Microbiome Diversity by RAD-Seq and Metabarcoding.

Bidens pilosa L., native to South America and commonly used for medicinal purposes, has been understudied at molecular and genomic levels and in its relationship with soil microorganisms. In this study, restriction site-associated DNA markers (RADseq) techniques were implemented to analyze genetic diversity and population structure, and metabarcoding to examine microbial composition in soils from Palmira, Sibundoy, and Bogotá, Colombia. A total of 2,984,123 loci and 3485 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified, revealing a genetic variation of 12% between populations and 88% within individuals, and distributing the population into three main genetic groups, FST = 0.115 (p < 0.001) and FIT = 0.013 (p > 0.05). In the soil analysis, significant correlations were found between effective cation exchange capacity (ECEC) and apparent density, soil texture, and levels of Mg and Fe, as well as negative correlations between ECEC and Mg, and Mg, Fe, and Ca. Proteobacteria and Ascomycota emerged as the predominant bacterial and fungal phyla, respectively. Analyses of alpha, beta, and multifactorial diversity highlight the influence of ecological and environmental factors on these microbial communities, revealing specific patterns of clustering and association between bacteria and fungi in the studied locations.

Soil bacteria and fungi communities are shaped by elevation influences in Colombian forest and páramo natural ecosystems.

The influence of elevation on natural terrestrial ecosystems determines the arrangements of microbial communities in soils to be associated with biotic and abiotic factors. To evaluate changes of fungi and bacteria at the community level along an elevational gradient (between 1000 and 3800 m.a.s.l.), physicochemical measurements of soils, taxonomic identifications of plants, and metabarcoding sequences of the 16S rRNA gene for bacteria and the ITS1 region for fungi were obtained. The bacterial taxonomic composition showed that Acidobacteriota increased in abundance with elevation, while Actinobacteriota and Verrucomicrobiota decreased. Furthermore, Firmicutes and Proteobacteria maintained maximum levels of abundance at intermediate elevations (1200 and 2400 m.a.s.l.). In fungi, Ascomycota was more abundant at higher elevations, Basidiomycota tended to dominate at lower elevations, and Mortierellomycota had a greater presence at intermediate sites. These results correlated with the edaphic parameters of decreasing pH and increasing organic carbon and available nitrogen with elevation. In addition, the Shannon index found a greater diversity in bacteria than fungi, but both showed a unimodal pattern with maximum values in the Andean Forest at 2400 m.a.s.l. Through the microbial characterization of the ecosystems, the elevational gradient, soil properties, and vegetation were found to exert significant effects on microbial communities and alpha diversity indices. We conclude that the most abundant soil microorganisms at the sampling points differed in abundance and diversity according to the variations in factors influencing ecological communities.

Soil Bacterial Communities from Three Agricultural Production Systems in Rural Landscapes of Palmira, Colombia.

Soils play important roles in the proper functioning of agroecosystems. Using molecular characterization methods such as metabarcoding, soils from eight farms (57 samples) belonging to three production system types-agroecological (two farms with twenty-two sampling points), organic (three farms with twenty-one sampling points), and conventional (three farms with fourteen sampling points)-were compared from the rural villages of El Arenillo and El Mesón in Palmira, Colombia. Amplification and sequencing of the hypervariable V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene was performed using next-generation sequencing (Illumina MiSeq) to estimate the bacterial composition and the alpha and beta diversity present. Across all soil samples, we found 2 domains (Archaea and Bacteria), 56 phylum, 190 classes, 386 orders, 632 families, and 1101 genera to be present. The most abundant phyla in the three systems were Proteobacteria, (agroecological 28%, organic 30%, and conventional 27%), Acidobacteria (agroecological 22%, organic 21%, and conventional 24%), and Verrucomicrobia (agroecological 10%, organic 6%, and conventional 13%). We found 41 nitrogen-fixing and phosphate-dissolving genera which promote growth and pathogens. Alpha and beta diversity indices were very similar across the three agricultural production systems, as reflected by shared amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) among them, likely due to the proximity of the sampling sites and recent management changes.

An integrative approach to the study of Helicotylenchus (Nematoda: Hoplolaimidae) Colombian and Brazilian populations associated with Musa crops.

In total, 10 populations of Helicotylenchus associated with Musa spp., six from Colombia, and four from Brazil were identified to the species level. Morphological and morphometric data were recorded for each population, performed a principal components analysis (PCA), a conglomerate, along with consensus sequences of D2 to D3 expansion segment of the large subunit of ribosomal DNA (28S) for different populations. Identify of species were performed using the basic local alignment search tool (BLAST), and the evolutionary relationships of species were explored using a phylogeny study. Four species of Helicotylenchus were identified based on morphological and morphometric data: H. multicinctus, H. dihystera, H. erythrinae, and H. californicus. PCA and conglomerate analysis clearly separated these species. BLAST and phylogenetic analysis confirmed the presence of these species associated with Musa spp. crops. This is the first report of these species in Colombia through integrative taxonomy.In total, 10 populations of Helicotylenchus associated with Musa spp., six from Colombia, and four from Brazil were identified to the species level. Morphological and morphometric data were recorded for each population, performed a principal components analysis (PCA), a conglomerate, along with consensus sequences of D2 to D3 expansion segment of the large subunit of ribosomal DNA (28S) for different populations. Identify of species were performed using the basic local alignment search tool (BLAST), and the evolutionary relationships of species were explored using a phylogeny study. Four species of Helicotylenchus were identified based on morphological and morphometric data: H. multicinctus, H. dihystera, H. erythrinae, and H. californicus. PCA and conglomerate analysis clearly separated these species. BLAST and phylogenetic analysis confirmed the presence of these species associated with Musa spp. crops. This is the first report of these species in Colombia through integrative taxonomy.

Morpho-molecular characterization of Colombian and Brazilian populations of Rotylenchulus associated with Musa spp.

Three populations, two from Colombia and one from Brazil, of Rotylenchulus reniformis associated with banana and plantain, were characterized using morphological, morphometric, and molecular methods. Morphometric data from these populations were similar to type and reference populations of R. reniformis. Partial sequences of both D2-D3 rDNA and mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) regions had a strong affinity (99% similarity) to previously published sequences of R. reniformis. Phylogenetic analyses (maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference) suggested that the Colombian populations of R. reniformis corresponded to the previously described Type A of the species. This is the definitive first report in Colombia of R. reniformis associated with banana and plantain crops.

Genetic diversity of BoLA-DRB3 gene in Colombian creole Hartón del Valle cattle / Diversidad genética del gen BoLA-DRB3 en el ganado criollo colombiano Hartón del Valle / Diversidade genética do gene BoLA-DRB3 em gado crioulo colombiano Hartón del Valle

The objective of this study was to evaluate the genetic diversity of ball-DRB3 gene in the Colombian creole Hartón del Valle cattle. A total of 93 Hartón del Valle (HV), 30 Lucerne (LUC), and 30 Holstein (HOL) animals were evaluated for DRB3 gene polymorphism using the PCR-SBT method. The number of alleles found were 27, 17 and 14 for HV, LUC, HOL, respectively. The most frequent alleles were DRB3*1101 (14.5%) in HV; LUC DRB3 * 0701 in LUC; and *1107, *1501 and *2301 in HOL (11.7%). Expected heterozygosity values were higher than observed, which resulted in a low fixing index, positive F IS (significant only for HV), and no significant deviations from Hardy- Weinberg equilibrium for LUC. The molecular analysis of variance reflected little variation between breeds (3%) and a moderate genetic differentiation (F ST = 0.056 p<0.01). Regarding sequence, LUC was the most diverse breed, no neutral selection is occurring, and none of the breeds is in selection equilibrium. Comparison with reports on other breeds showed high genetic diversity in Colombian breeds. We conclude that HV has high genetic diversity in BoLA-DRB3 locus. The cause of this polymorphism may be due in part to the origin of HV. This high variation can be maintained by selection equilibrium.

El objetivo de esta investigación fue evaluar la diversidad genética del gen BoLA-DRB3 en el ganado criollo Colombiano Hartón del Valle. En 93 animales Hartón del Valle (HV), 30 Lucerna (LUC) y 30 Holstein (HOL) se evaluó el polimorfismo del gen DRB3 usando la metodología PCR-SBT. Se encontraron 27 alelos en la raza HV, 17 en LUC y 14 en HOL. El alelo más frecuente en HV fue el DRB3*1101 (14,5%), en la raza LUC los alelos DRB3*0701, *1107, *1501 y *2301 al igual que el alelo DRB3*0701 en la raza HOL tuvieron la frecuencia más alta (11,7%). Los valores de heterocigocidad esperada fueron más altos que la observada, lo que se tradujo en un valor bajo del índice de fijación, valores de F IS positivos solo significativo en el HV y desviaciones del equilibrio de Hardy-Weinberg no significativos en LUC. El análisis de varianza molecular reflejó poca variación entre razas (3%) y una diferenciación genética moderada (F ST= 0,056 p<0,01). A nivel de secuencia se resalta que, la raza más diversa es LUC, que no se está presentando selección neutral y que ninguna de las razas se encuentra en equilibrio de selección balanceadora. La comparación con otras razas reportadas, mostró alta diversidad genética en las razas colombianas. Se concluye que la raza HV tiene alta diversidad genética en el locus BoLA-DRB3, que el origen del polimorfismo puede deberse en parte al origen de la raza y que esta alta variación puede ser mantenida mediante equilibrio de selección.

O objetivo desta pesquisa foi avaliar a diversidade genética do gene BoLA-DRB3 no gado crioulo colombiano Hartón del Valle. O estudo se fez com 93 animais Hartón del Valle (HV), 30 Lucerna (LUC) e 30 Holandês (HOL). Avaliou-se o polimorfismo do gene DRB3 utilizando a metodologia PCR-SBT. Encontraram-se 27 alelos na raça HV, 17 em LUC e 14 em HOL. O alelo com maior frequência em HV foi o DRB3*1101 (14,5%), na raça LUC os alelos DRB3*0701, *1107, *1501 e *2301 ao igual que o alelo DRB3*0701 na raça HOL tiveram a maior frequência (11,7%). Os valores de heterocigocidade esperada foram maiores que a observada, o que se traduz em um valor baixo do índice de fixação, valores de F IS positivos só foram significativos no HV e desvio do equilíbrio de Hardy- Weinberg foram não significativos em LUC. O Analice de variância molecular reflexou pouca variação entre raças (3%) e uma diferenciação genética moderada (F ST= 0,056 p<0,01). No nível de sequência destacasse que, a raça mais diversa é LUC, que não está apresentando seleção neutral e que nenhuma das raças encontra-se em equilíbrio de seleção balanceadora. Se comparar com outras raças reportadas, as raças colombianas exibiram uma alta diversidade genética. Conclui-se que a raça HV tem alta diversidade genética no locus BoLA DRB3, que a origem do polimorfismo pode se dever em parte àorigem da raça e que essa alta variação pode ser mantida mediante o equilíbrio de seleção.