Activity profiles of ²¹⁰Pb (a) and ¹³⁷Cs (b) for the sediment core M38002.

<p>Activity profiles of ²¹⁰Pb (a) and ¹³⁷Cs (b) for the sediment core M38002.</p

Correlations between MS and the median grain size and the SiO₂/Al₂O₃ ratio of sediment core M38002.

<p>Correlations between MS and the median grain size and the SiO₂/Al₂O₃ ratio of sediment core M38002.</p

Grain size distributions of four samples selected from the sediment core M38002 at depths of 3.5, 11.5, 15, and 25cm.

<p>Grain size distributions of four samples selected from the sediment core M38002 at depths of 3.5, 11.5, 15, and 25cm.</p

Locations of the Haiyuan County, the Huayuankou, the Old Yellow River, and the Loess Plateau.

<p>Areas with seismic intensity of 1920 Haiyuan Earthquake greater than seven degrees on the Chinese Seismic Intensity Scale (modified from <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0044725#pone.0044725-Zhang2" target="_blank">[21]</a>) are marked by solid and dashed lines around Haiyuan County; range of the Loess Plateau is modified from <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0044725#pone.0044725-Kukla1" target="_blank">[28]</a>.</p

Location of the sampling site (map is modified from [24]).

<p>Topographic lines are shown in light grey, mud areas are shown in dark grey, and coastal currents are marked by dashed lines and arrows. BSM: Bohai Sea Mud; NYSM: Northern Yellow Sea Mud; SYSM: Southern Yellow Sea Mud; YSCC: Yellow Sea Coastal Current.</p

Comparison of sorting coefficients calculated using both Folk & Ward's (SC₂) [16] and Trask's method (SC₁) [15].

<p>The concentrations of >63 µm contents are given in volume.</p

Comparison of sedimentary characteristics of the sediment core M38002 in NYSM with paleo-events.

<p>The numbers “1”, “2” and “3” mark the extra-large flood around the Shandong Peninsula in AD 1781, the extra-large flood of Hai and Luan River in AD 1801 and large flood of Liao River in AD 1846, respectively; “4”, “6” and “7” the events of the Yellow river relocation in AD 1855, 1938 and 1976, respectively; “5” the AD 1920 Haiyuan Earthquake.</p

DataSheet_1_Microbial communities associated with epilithic algal matrix with different morphological characters in Luhuitou fringing reef.docx

The microbiota is an important component of the epilithic algal matrix (EAM) and plays a central role in the biogeochemical cycling of important nutrients in coral reef ecosystems. Insufficient studies on EAM microbiota diversity have led to a limited understanding of the ecological functions of EAMs in different states. To explore the microbial community of EAMs in the Luhuitou fringing reef in Sanya, China, which has undergone the incessant expansion and domination of algae over the past several decades, investigations were conducted in the reef’s intertidal zone. Five types of substrate habitats (dead branching coral, dead massive coral, dead flat coral, granite block, and concrete block) were selected, and their microbial communities were analyzed by high-throughput sequencing of EAM holobionts using the 16S rDNA V4 region. Proteobacteria was the most abundant group, accounting for more than 70% of reads of the microbial composition across all sites, followed by Cyanobacteria (15.89%) and Bacteroidetes (5.93%), respectively. Cluster analysis divided all microbial communities into three groups, namely short, medium, and long EAMs. Algal length was the most important morphological factor impacting the differences in the composition of the EAM microbiota. The three EAM groups had 52 common OTUs and 78.52% common sequences, among which the most abundant were Vibrio spp. and Photobacterium spp. The three types of EAM also had unique OTUs. The short EAMs had 238 unique OTUs and 48.61% unique sequences, mainly in the genera Shewanella and Cyanobacterium. The medium EAMs contained 130 unique OTUs and 4.36% unique sequences, mainly in the genera Pseudomonas and Bacillus. The long EAMs only had 27 unique OTUs and 4.13% unique sequences, mainly in the genus Marinobacter. Compared with short EAM, medium and long EAM had a lower proportion of autotrophic bacteria and higher proportion of potential pathogenic bacteria. It is suggested that EAMs with different phenotypes have different microbial compositions, and the ecological function of the EAM microbiota changes from autotrophic to pathogenic with an increase in algal length. As EAMs have expanded on coastal coral reefs worldwide, it is essential to comprehensively explore the community structure and ecological role of their microbial communities.</p

Phylogenetic analysis of <i>B</i>. <i>endophyticus</i> Hbe603 with other species.

<p>The phylogenetic tree of <i>B</i>. <i>endophyticus</i> Hbe603 was constructed using CVTree with parameters K = 6 and Type = aa. The neighbor-joining tree was constructed using the MEGA5 program based on the CVTree results. Note that <i>Geobacillus kaustophilus</i> HTA426 was included as an outgroup.</p

Genome Sequence of <i>Bacillus endophyticus</i> and Analysis of Its Companion Mechanism in the <i>Ketogulonigenium vulgare-Bacillus</i> Strain Consortium

<div><p><i>Bacillus</i> strains have been widely used as the companion strain of <i>Ketogulonigenium vulgare</i> in the process of vitamin C fermentation. Different <i>Bacillus</i> strains generate different effects on the growth of <i>K</i>. <i>vulgare</i> and ultimately influence the productivity. First, we identified that <i>Bacillus endophyticus</i> Hbe603 was an appropriate strain to cooperate with <i>K</i>. <i>vulgare</i> and the product conversion rate exceeded 90% in industrial vitamin C fermentation. Here, we report the genome sequencing of the <i>B</i>. <i>endophyticus</i> Hbe603 industrial companion strain and speculate its possible advantage in the consortium. The circular chromosome of <i>B</i>. <i>endophyticus</i> Hbe603 has a size of 4.87 Mb with GC content of 36.64% and has the highest similarity with that of <i>Bacillus megaterium</i> among all the bacteria with complete genomes. By comparing the distribution of COGs with that of <i>Bacillus thuringiensis</i>, <i>Bacillus cereus</i> and <i>B</i>. <i>megaterium</i>, <i>B</i>. <i>endophyticus</i> has less genes related to cell envelope biogenesis and signal transduction mechanisms, and more genes related to carbohydrate transport and metabolism, energy production and conversion, as well as lipid transport and metabolism. Genome-based functional studies revealed the specific capability of <i>B</i>. <i>endophyticus</i> in sporulation, transcription regulation, environmental resistance, membrane transportation, extracellular proteins and nutrients synthesis, which would be beneficial for <i>K</i>. <i>vulgare</i>. In particular, <i>B</i>. <i>endophyticus</i> lacks the Rap-Phr signal cascade system and, in part, spore coat related proteins. In addition, it has specific pathways for vitamin B12 synthesis and sorbitol metabolism. The genome analysis of the industrial <i>B</i>. <i>endophyticus</i> will help us understand its cooperative mechanism in the <i>K</i>. <i>vulgare</i>-<i>Bacillus</i> strain consortium to improve the fermentation of vitamin C.</p></div