The Microbial Community Structure of Relict Niter-beds Previously Used for Saltpeter Production

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The saltpeter had been produced by using niter-bed process formed under the floor of gassho-style house in a Historic Village of Shirakawa-go and Gokayama. The diversity of the nitrifying microbes in such relict niter-bed soil remains unclear. Here, the microbial assemblages of relict niter-bed soils were performed by pyrosequencing analysis targeting 16S rRNA gene and ammonia monooxygenase gene (amoA). The 16S rRNA gene analyses revealed that members of the phyla Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Bacteroidetes were major microbial constituents, and principal coordinate analysis showed that soil ion contents were critical factors for the communities. The amoA pyrotag analysis revealed that Nitrosospira and "Ca. Nitrososphaera" predominated, and soil pH and organic carbon content were important factors for the ecological niche of nitrifying microbes. These results suggest that these organisms may play roles in ammonia-oxidation in relict niter-bed soil ecosystems.