Effect of Different Bacterial-Feeding Nematode Species on Soil Bacterial Numbers, Activity, and Community Composition

The effects of bacterial-feeding nematodes on bacterial number, activity, and community composition were studied through a microcosm experiment using sterilized soil inoculated with soil bacteria (soil suspension) and with bacteria and three species of bacterial-feeding nematodes (Cephalobus persegnis, Protorhabditis filiformis, and Caenorhabditis elegans). Catalyzed reporter deposition-fluorescence in situ hybridization, CO2 evolution, and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) of PCR amplified 16S rRNA gene fragments were used to investigate bacterial numbers, activity, and community composition, respectively. Our results showed that bacterial numbers and activity significantly increased in the presence of bacterial-feeding nematodes, which indicated that bacterial-feeding nematodes had a significant positive effect on soil bacteria. The different nematode species had different effects on bacterial numbers and activity. C. persegnis and P. filiformis, isolated from native soil, increased the bacterial number and activity more than C. elegans. The DGGE analysis results showed that dominant bacterial species significantly differed among the treatments, which suggested that bacterial-feeding nematode species modified the bacterial community composition in soil. Further gene sequence analysis results showed that the dominant bacterial species in this study were gram-negative bacteria. Given the completely same conditions except nematode species, the varied selective feeding behavior of different nematode species was the most likely reason for the altered bacterial community composition. Overall, the alteration of bacterial numbers, activity and community composition resulting from the bacterial-feeding nematodes may ultimately affect soil ecological functioning and processes.