Vertical Changes in Bacterial Communities in Percolating Water of a Japanese Paddy Field as Revealed by PCR-DGGE

Percolating water was sampled from the plow layer and subsoil layer in a Japanese paddy field, and the bacterial communities were compared together with floodwater by polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) targeting a partial 16S rRNA gene and subsequent sequencing. The number of DGGE bands ranged from 16 to 28 with no significant differences among the sampling sites and times. Only 2 bands were common for the three sources of water samples. DGGE bands specific for the floodwater samples and percolating water samples from the plow layer were identified, while percolating water samples from the subsoil layer did not show specific bands but displayed common bands to those of the floodwater samples (7 bands) and percolating water samples from the plow layer (1 band). Cluster analysis of the DGGE banding patterns showed a distinct clustering in the samples of percolating water from the plow layer and a closer relationship between the others. These results suggest that the bacterial communities in percolating water changed during downward movement through the plow layer and subsoil layer. Sequences of the DGGE bands specific for the samples of percolating water from the plow layer showed a close relationship with anaerobic bacteria such as iron-reducers or uncultured bacterial DNA isolated from environments that are considered to be less oxic. On the other hand, the sequences of the bands specific for the samples of floodwater and percolating water from the subsoil layer showed a close relationship with uncultured bacterial DNA isolated from freshwater environments.