Relating microbial community structure and environmental variables in mangrove sediments inside Rhizophora mangle L. habitats

This study aimed to access the structure of microbial communities in sediments in the root zone of the red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle) in three sites with an increasing distance from the sea inside a mangrove forest in two distinct periods (dry and wet seasons) using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). These data were correlated to environmental variables and sediments characteristics by using redundancy analysis (RDA) which revealed that the distribution of the microbial communities is significantly (p < 0.05) influenced by the silt–clay percentages for both Bacteria and Archaea and organic matter content significantly influences the distribution of Archaea. The archaeal community also exhibited an annual clustering pattern. The sites had only 30% and 35% of similarity of bacterial and archaeal communities, respectively, and this could be interpreted as being the core microbiome of R. mangle. Thus the spatial distribution of microbial communities inside the red mangrove habitats seems to be primarily controlled by the abiotic variables of each habitat.

► We analyzed microbial community structure during 2 years in mangrove root zones.
► An annual pattern was found for Achaeal communities.
► Similar patterns on the distribution of microbial communities were found.
► The silt–clay percentage is the primary driver of the communities structure.