Comparative analysis of alkaline phosphatase-encoding genes (phoX) in two contrasting zones of Lake Taihu.

Limnetic habitats that are dominated by either algae or macrophytes represent the 2 dominant ecosystems in shallow lakes. We assessed seasonal variations in the diversity and abundance of alkaline phosphate-encoding genes (phoX) in these 2 zones of Lake Taihu, which is a large, shallow, eutrophic lake in China. There was no significant difference in seasonal mean phoX diversity between the 2 zones, whereas the seasonal mean phoX abundance in the macrophyte-dominated region was higher than that in the algae-dominated region. The bulk of the genotypes in the 2 regions were most similar to the alphaproteobacterial and betaproteobacterial phoX. Genotypes most similar to phoX affiliated with Betaproteobacteria were present with greater diversity in the macrophyte-dominated zone than in the algae-dominated zone. In the algae-dominated zone, the relative proportion of genotypes most similar to cyanobacterial phoX was highest (38.8%) in summer. In addition to the different genotype structures and environmental factors between the 2 stable states, the lower gene abundances and higher alkaline phosphatase activities in Meiliang Bay in summer than those in Xukou Bay reveals different organophosphate-mineralizing modes in these 2 contrasting habitats.