Bacterial Succession Decreases Network Complexity During Plant Material Decomposition in Mangroves

In this study, 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing was used to assess bacterial diversity and dynamics throughout different stages of leaves decomposition of three plant species (Rhizophora mangle, Laguncularia racemosa, and Avicennia schaueriana) in three distinct mangroves of São Paulo state, Brazil. The experiments were conducted in microcosms. Phylogenetic diversity (Faiths' PD) index showed differences between samples and suggested that some treatments like R. mangle increased their bacterial diversity through time. Principal coordinate analysis revealed that community's profile varied based on mangroves, followed by plant species and time. A clear succession patterns was observed in this study, i.e., some microorganisms with low abundance in the initial phases gradually became dominant (e.g., Alphaproteobacteria), whereas microbes that were initially predominant became low (e.g., Gammaproteobacteria). Co-occurrence analyses were performed for all times of plant degradation aiming to better understand the relationships between bacterial populations. The c-score index was done to test the randomness of the community assemblage during the stages of decomposition. For all degradation time points, the values of the observed c-score were higher than the values of the simulated c-score. This result indicated that during plant decomposition, the bacterial communities presented less co-occurrence than expected by chance and that these communities were not randomly assembled but instead they are driven by species interactions. Network analyses results showed that in the conditions presented in this experiment, the initial stages of leaf decomposition formed more connected and complex networks than the later stages. These results suggest that resource competition was a determinant in these specific mangroves during plant degradation, mainly in the initial periods.