Analysis of microbial communities in soils under different land uses on the frontier of agricultural expansion in Southwestern Amazonia

• Grant number: 10/20353-7
• Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Effective date (Start): June 01, 2011
• Effective date (End): March 31, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy - Soil Science
• Principal researcher: Tsai Siu Mui
• Grantee: Lucas William Mendes
• Home Institution: Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura (CENA). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 08/58114-3 - Monitoring the microbial diversity and functional activities in response to land-use changes and deforestation under soybean and sugarcane cultivations, AP.PFPMCG.TEM

Abstract

The Amazon rainforest is the world's largest reservoir of plant and animal diversity, and it has been subjected to especially high rates of land use conversion by agriculture and pasture. Areas of native forest are cleared through slash-and-burn before being converted to their use. This expansion is driven by growing demand for soybeans, primarily by the Asian market recently incorporated into the global economy. This region includes several types of land-uses, since the extraction performed on native vegetation, until the cultivation with different levels of technology for agriculture and livestock. In agriculture, stand out the crop of soybeans, cotton, corn and rice, grown in no-till or conventional form; in livestock, there are pasture areas well managed and others more degraded. In pasture areas the use of Brachiaria (Brachiaria brizantha) is predominant; while in agriculture, is common the use of soybean crop (Glicine max L. Merril) preceded by the succession of corn (Zea mayz L.). This research aims to determine how the land-use change alters the microbial communities present in soil, characterized by native vegetation cover, agricultural management (soybean crop) and pasture at the frontier of agricultural expansion in the southeast Amazon. For this purpose, the taxonomical and functional structure of soil microorganisms will be studied by metagenome through high-throughput next generation sequencing. The microbial community of different land-use systems will be compared in a taxonomic and functional level to better understand the effects of deforestation over the structure of soil microorganisms in this region. Therewith, it is expected to evaluate the hypothesis that changes in land-use alter microbial communities and that change has effect on the microorganisms related to the greenhouse gases emissions, analyzing this way if there is loss of diversity and there is an increase in the presence of genes related to GHG emissions. (AU)

Scientific publications

(4)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

MENDES, LUCAS W.; PEREZ BRAGA, LUCAS PALMA; NAVARRETE, ACACIO A.; DE SOUZA, DENNIS GOSS; SILVA, GENIVALDO G. Z.; TSAI, SIU M. Using. Metagenomics to Connect Microbial Community Biodiversity and Functions. CURRENT ISSUES IN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY, v. 24, p. 103-118, 2017. Web of Science Citations: 0.

MENDES, LUCAS WILLIAM; DE LIMA BROSSI, MARIA JULIA; KURAMAE, EIKO EURYA; TSAI, SIU MUI. Land-use system shapes soil bacterial communities in Southeastern Amazon region. APPLIED SOIL ECOLOGY, v. 95, p. 151-160, NOV 2015. Web of Science Citations: 37.

MENDES, LUCAS W.; TSAI, SIU M.; NAVARRETE, ACACIO A.; DE HOLLANDER, MATTIAS; VAN VEEN, JOHANNES A.; KURAMAE, EIKO E. Soil-Borne Microbiome: Linking Diversity to Function. MICROBIAL ECOLOGY, v. 70, n. 1, p. 255-265, JUL 2015. Web of Science Citations: 64.

MENDES, LUCAS W.; KURAMAE, EIKO E.; NAVARRETE, ACACIO A.; VAN VEEN, JOHANNES A.; TSAI, SIU M. Taxonomical and functional microbial community selection in soybean rhizosphere. ISME Journal, v. 8, n. 8, p. 1577-1587, AUG 2014. Web of Science Citations: 168.

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

MENDES, Lucas William. Metagenome of Amazon forest conversion: impacts on soil-borne microbial diversity and functions. 2014. Doctoral Thesis - Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura Piracicaba.