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Zhang H, Plett JM, Catunda KLM, Churchill AC, Moore BD, Powell JR, Power SA, Yang J, Anderson IC. Rapid quantification of biological nitrogen fixation using optical spectroscopy. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY 2024; 75:760-771. [PMID: 37891011 DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erad426] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2023] [Accepted: 10/27/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023]
Abstract
Biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) provides a globally important input of nitrogen (N); its quantification is critical but technically challenging. Leaf reflectance spectroscopy offers a more rapid approach than traditional techniques to measure plant N concentration ([N]) and isotopes (δ15N). Here we present a novel method for rapidly and inexpensively quantifying BNF using optical spectroscopy. We measured plant [N], δ15N, and the amount of N derived from atmospheric fixation (Ndfa) following the standard traditional methodology using isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) from tissues grown under controlled conditions and taken from field experiments. Using the same tissues, we predicted the same three parameters using optical spectroscopy. By comparing the optical spectroscopy-derived results with traditional measurements (i.e. IRMS), the amount of Ndfa predicted by optical spectroscopy was highly comparable to IRMS-based quantification, with R2 being 0.90 (slope=0.90) and 0.94 (slope=1.02) (root mean square error for predicting legume δ15N was 0.38 and 0.43) for legumes grown in glasshouse and field, respectively. This novel application of optical spectroscopy facilitates BNF studies because it is rapid, scalable, low cost, and complementary to existing technologies. Moreover, the proposed method successfully captures the dynamic response of BNF to climate changes such as warming and drought.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haiyang Zhang
- College of Life Sciences, Hebei University, Baoding, China
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW, 2751, Australia
| | - Jonathan M Plett
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW, 2751, Australia
| | - Karen L M Catunda
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW, 2751, Australia
| | - Amber C Churchill
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW, 2751, Australia
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, 140 Gortner Laboratory, 1479 Gortner Ave., St Paul, MN 55108, USA
| | - Ben D Moore
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW, 2751, Australia
| | - Jeff R Powell
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW, 2751, Australia
| | - Sally A Power
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW, 2751, Australia
| | - Jinyan Yang
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW, 2751, Australia
| | - Ian C Anderson
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW, 2751, Australia
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Dagan R, Dovrat G, Masci T, Sheffer E. Competition-induced downregulation of symbiotic nitrogen fixation. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2023; 240:2288-2297. [PMID: 37845824 DOI: 10.1111/nph.19322] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2023] [Accepted: 09/12/2023] [Indexed: 10/18/2023]
Abstract
Controlled experiments at the level of individual plants show that legume species use different strategies for the regulation of symbiotic dinitrogen fixation in response to nitrogen availability. These strategies were suggested to improve legume fitness in the context of the plant community, although rarely studied at this level. We evaluated how nitrogen availability and conspecific vs heterospecific interactions influenced the strategy of regulation of nitrogen fixation. We grew two species of herbaceous legumes representing two different strategies of regulation without interaction, under treatments of deficient and sufficient nitrogen availability, with conspecific or heterospecific interaction. We found that Hymenocarpus circinnatus maintained a facultative strategy of downregulating nitrogen fixation when nitrogen was available under both con- and heterospecific interactions, as was also found for this species when grown alone. Vicia palaestina also downregulated nitrogen fixation under both con- and heterospecific interactions but did not regulate fixation when grown alone. Our results showed that under nitrogen limitation, interaction with a neighboring plant reduced fitness, reflecting a competitive effect. Our findings suggest that when interacting with other plants, downregulation of nitrogen fixation is more likely, therefore reducing the energetic cost of fixation, and improving plant performance in competitive ecological communities, especially when nitrogen is available.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rotem Dagan
- Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, 7610001, Israel
| | - Guy Dovrat
- Department of Natural Resources, Newe Ya'ar Research Center, Agricultural Research Organization, Ramat Yishay, 30095, Israel
| | - Tania Masci
- Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, 7610001, Israel
| | - Efrat Sheffer
- Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, 7610001, Israel
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Carreras Pereira KA, Wolf AA, Kou-Giesbrecht S, Akana PR, Funk JL, Menge DNL. Allometric relationships for eight species of 4-5 year old nitrogen-fixing and non-fixing trees. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0289679. [PMID: 37603572 PMCID: PMC10441808 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0289679] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2021] [Accepted: 07/25/2023] [Indexed: 08/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Allometric equations are often used to estimate plant biomass allocation to different tissue types from easier-to-measure quantities. Biomass allocation, and thus allometric equations, often differs by species and sometimes varies with nutrient availability. We measured biomass components for five nitrogen-fixing tree species (Robinia pseudoacacia, Gliricidia sepium, Casuarina equisetifolia, Acacia koa, Morella faya) and three non-fixing tree species (Betula nigra, Psidium cattleianum, Dodonaea viscosa) grown in field sites in New York and Hawaii for 4-5 years and subjected to four fertilization treatments. We measured total aboveground, foliar, main stem, secondary stem, and twig biomass in all species, and belowground biomass in Robinia pseudoacacia and Betula nigra, along with basal diameter, height, and canopy dimensions. The individuals spanned a wide size range (<1-16 cm basal diameter; 0.24-8.8 m height). For each biomass component, aboveground biomass, belowground biomass, and total biomass, we determined the following four allometric equations: the most parsimonious (lowest AIC) overall, the most parsimonious without a fertilization effect, the most parsimonious without canopy dimensions, and an equation with basal diameter only. For some species, the most parsimonious overall equation included fertilization effects, but fertilization effects were inconsistent across fertilization treatments. We therefore concluded that fertilization does not clearly affect allometric relationships in these species, size classes, and growth conditions. Our best-fit allometric equations without fertilization effects had the following R2 values: 0.91-0.99 for aboveground biomass (the range is across species), 0.95 for belowground biomass, 0.80-0.96 for foliar biomass, 0.94-0.99 for main stem biomass, 0.77-0.98 for secondary stem biomass, and 0.88-0.99 for twig biomass. Our equations can be used to estimate overall biomass and biomass of tissue components for these size classes in these species, and our results indicate that soil fertility does not need to be considered when using allometric relationships for these size classes in these species.
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Affiliation(s)
- K. A. Carreras Pereira
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology, Columbia University, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Amelia A. Wolf
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas Austin, Austin, Texas, United States of America
| | - Sian Kou-Giesbrecht
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology, Columbia University, New York, New York, United States of America
- Canadian Centre for Climate Modelling and Analysis, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
| | - Palani R. Akana
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology, Columbia University, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Jennifer L. Funk
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, California, United States of America
| | - Duncan N. L. Menge
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology, Columbia University, New York, New York, United States of America
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Toro L, Pereira‐Arias D, Perez‐Aviles D, Vargas G. G, Soper FM, Gutknecht J, Powers JS. Phosphorus limitation of early growth differs between nitrogen-fixing and nonfixing dry tropical forest tree species. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2023; 237:766-779. [PMID: 36352518 PMCID: PMC10107181 DOI: 10.1111/nph.18612] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2022] [Accepted: 09/18/2022] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
Tropical forests are often characterized by low soil phosphorus (P) availability, suggesting that P limits plant performance. However, how seedlings from different functional types respond to soil P availability is poorly known but important for understanding and modeling forest dynamics under changing environmental conditions. We grew four nitrogen (N)-fixing Fabaceae and seven diverse non-N-fixing tropical dry forest tree species in a shade house under three P fertilization treatments and evaluated carbon (C) allocation responses, P demand, P-use, investment in P acquisition traits, and correlations among P acquisition traits. Nitrogen fixers grew larger with increasing P addition in contrast to non-N fixers, which showed fewer responses in C allocation and P use. Foliar P increased with P addition for both functional types, while P acquisition strategies did not vary among treatments but differed between functional types, with N fixers showing higher root phosphatase activity (RPA) than nonfixers. Growth responses suggest that N fixers are limited by P, but nonfixers may be limited by other resources. However, regardless of limitation, P acquisition traits such as mycorrhizal colonization and RPA were nonplastic across a steep P gradient. Differential limitation among plant functional types has implications for forest succession and earth system models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Toro
- Department of Plant and Microbial BiologyUniversity of MinnesotaSt PaulMN55108USA
| | | | - Daniel Perez‐Aviles
- Department of Plant and Microbial BiologyUniversity of MinnesotaSt PaulMN55108USA
| | - German Vargas G.
- Department of Plant and Microbial BiologyUniversity of MinnesotaSt PaulMN55108USA
- School of Biological SciencesThe University of UtahSalt Lake CityUT84112USA
| | - Fiona M. Soper
- Department of Biology and Bieler School of EnvironmentMcGill UniversityMontréalQCH3A 1B1Canada
| | - Jessica Gutknecht
- Department of Soil, Water, and ClimateUniversity of MinnesotaSt PaulMN55108USA
| | - Jennifer S. Powers
- Department of Plant and Microbial BiologyUniversity of MinnesotaSt PaulMN55108USA
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and BehaviorUniversity of MinnesotaSt PaulMN55108USA
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Li M, Chen Q, Wu C, Li Y, Wang S, Chen X, Qiu B, Li Y, Mao D, Lin H, Yu D, Cao Y, Huang Z, Cui C, Zhong Z. A Novel Module Promotes Horizontal Gene Transfer in Azorhizobium caulinodans ORS571. Genes (Basel) 2022; 13:genes13101895. [PMID: 36292780 PMCID: PMC9601964 DOI: 10.3390/genes13101895] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2022] [Revised: 10/02/2022] [Accepted: 10/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Azorhizobium caulinodans ORS571 contains an 87.6 kb integrative and conjugative element (ICEAc) that conjugatively transfers symbiosis genes to other rhizobia. Many hypothetical redundant gene fragments (rgfs) are abundant in ICEAc, but their potential function in horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is unknown. Molecular biological methods were employed to delete hypothetical rgfs, expecting to acquire a minimal ICEAc and consider non-functional rgfs as editable regions for inserting genes related to new symbiotic functions. We determined the significance of rgf4 in HGT and identified the physiological function of genes designated rihF1a (AZC_3879), rihF1b (AZC_RS26200), and rihR (AZC_3881). In-frame deletion and complementation assays revealed that rihF1a and rihF1b work as a unit (rihF1) that positively affects HGT frequency. The EMSA assay and lacZ-based reporter system showed that the XRE-family protein RihR is not a regulator of rihF1 but promotes the expression of the integrase (intC) that has been reported to be upregulated by the LysR-family protein, AhaR, through sensing host’s flavonoid. Overall, a conservative module containing rihF1 and rihR was characterized, eliminating the size of ICEAc by 18.5%. We propose the feasibility of constructing a minimal ICEAc element to facilitate the exchange of new genetic components essential for symbiosis or other metabolic functions between soil bacteria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mingxu Li
- Department of Microbiology, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
| | - Qianqian Chen
- Department of Microbiology, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
| | - Chuanhui Wu
- Department of Microbiology, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
| | - Yiyang Li
- Department of Microbiology, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
| | - Sanle Wang
- Department of Microbiology, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
| | - Xuelian Chen
- Department of Microbiology, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
| | - Bowen Qiu
- Department of Microbiology, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
| | - Yuxin Li
- Department of Microbiology, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
| | - Dongmei Mao
- Department of Microbiology, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
| | - Hong Lin
- Animal, Plant and Food Inspection Center, Nanjing Customs, No. 39, Chuangzhi Road, Nanjing 210019, China
| | - Daogeng Yu
- Tropical Crops Genetic Resources Institute, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Science, Danzhou 571737, China
| | - Yajun Cao
- Department of Microbiology, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
| | - Zhi Huang
- Department of Microbiology, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
- Correspondence: (Z.H.); (C.C.); Tel.: +86-25-84396645 (Z.H.)
| | - Chunhong Cui
- Department of Microbiology, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
- College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
- Correspondence: (Z.H.); (C.C.); Tel.: +86-25-84396645 (Z.H.)
| | - Zengtao Zhong
- Department of Microbiology, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
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