Buchan, A., S. Y. Newell, M. Butler, E. J. Biers, J. T. Hollibaugh, and M. A.
Moran. 2003. Dynamics of bacterial and fungal decomposers in a southeastern U.S. salt marsh. Appl. Environ.
Microbiol. 69: 6676-6687.

Both bacteria and fungi play critical roles in decomposition processes in natural environments, yet only rarely have they been studied as an integrated microbial community.  Here we describe the bacterial and fungal assemblages associated with two decomposition stages of Spartina alterniflora detritus in the highly productive salt marshes of the southeastern U.S.  16S rRNA genes and 18S-23S internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions were used to target the bacterial and ascomycete fungal communities, respectively, based on DNA sequence analysis of isolates and environmental clones and by using community fingerprinting based on terminal restriction fragment length polymophism (T-RFLP) analysis.  Seven major bacterial taxa (six affiliated with the α-Proteobacteria and one with the Cytophagales) and four major fungal taxa were identified over 5 sample dates spanning 13 months.  Fungal terminal restriction fragments (T-RFs) were informative at the species level; however, bacterial T-RFs were frequently comprised of a number of related genera.  Amplicon abundances indicated that the salt marsh decomposer communities have little-to-moderate variability spatially or with decomposition stage, but considerable variability temporally.  However, the temporal variability could not be readily explained by either successional shifts or simple relationships with environmental factors.  Significant correlations in abundance (both positive and negative) were found among dominant fungal and bacterial taxa that possibly indicate ecological interactions between decomposer organisms.  Most associations involved one of four microbial taxa: two groups of bacteria affiliated with the α-Proteobacteria an the ascomycete fungi Phaeosphaeria spartinicola and '4clt'.