Molecular analysis of the structures and diversity of microbial communities in soil of preserved mangroves of Ilha do Cardoso-SP

Author(s)

Lucas William Mendes

• Document type: Master's Dissertation
• Press: Piracicaba.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura (CENA/STB)
• Defense date: 2009-08-27

Examining board members

Tsai Siu Mui; Fernando Dini Andreote; Valéria Maia de Oliveira

• Advisor: Tsai Siu Mui

Abstract

The tropical mangroves are considered one of the most productive ecosystems of the world, being characterized by the high tax of organic matter and recycling of nutrients, that happens between the oceans and the terrestrial habitats. Although the mangroves are considered areas of environmental protection, the destruction of those ecosystems is progressive, due to industrial and port activities in the estuaries. In mangroves, the recycling of nutrients is directly related to the activities and to the diversity of microbial communities present in the soil. This work is part of a wider project inside of the program BIOTA/FAPESP, with respect to the studies of the biodiversity in the State of São Paulo and use of that biodiversity in a maintainable way. The objective of this work was to evaluate the structures and diversity of communities of Bacteria, Archaea and Fungi present in the soil of preserved mangrove of Ilha do Cardoso-SP. The samples were analyzed by T-RFLP and ARISA techniques, cloning and sequencing in order to obtain a characterization of the microbial communities structure of preserved mangrove area in comparison with the adjacent environments of restinga (tropical moist forest) and forest and also to a degraded mangrove. The results allowed concluding that the mangroves present exclusive characteristics, with the presence of distinct organisms, revealing a possible biotechnological potential to be explored. Additionally, the data revealed that the human action affected the structures of those communities in a way to be noticed a sensitive diversity decrease in the degraded mangrove, evidencing, this way, the importance of the ecosystem preservation (AU)