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Mugnai G, Pinchuk I, Borruso L, Tiziani R, Sannino C, Canini F, Turchetti B, Mimmo T, Zucconi L, Buzzini P. The hidden network of biocrust successional stages in the High Arctic: Revealing abiotic and biotic factors shaping microbial and metazoan communities. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 926:171786. [PMID: 38508248 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.171786] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2024] [Revised: 03/05/2024] [Accepted: 03/15/2024] [Indexed: 03/22/2024]
Abstract
Despite the important role that biocrust communities play in maintaining ecosystem structure and functioning in deglaciated barren soil, few studies have been conducted on the dynamics of biotic communities and the impact of physicochemical characteristics in shaping the different successional stages. In this study an integrated approach encompassing physicochemical parameters and molecular taxonomy was used for identifying the indicator taxa and the presence of intra- and inter-kingdom interactions in five different crust/biocrust successional stages: i) physical crust, ii) cyanobacteria-dominated biocrust, iii) cyanobacteria/moss-dominated biocrust, iv) moss-dominated biocrust and v) bryophyte carpet. The phylum Gemmatimonadota was the bacterial indicator taxon in the early stage, promoting both inter- and intra-kingdom interactions, while Cyanobacteria and Nematoda phyla played a pivotal role in formation and dynamics of cyanobacteria-dominated biocrusts. A multitrophic community, characterized by a shift from oligotrophic to copiotrophic bacteria and the presence of saproxylic arthropod and herbivore insects was found in the cyanobacteria/moss-dominated biocrust, while a more complex biota, characterized by an increased fungal abundance (classes Sordariomycetes, Leotiomycetes, and Dothideomycetes, phylum Ascomycota), associated with highly trophic consumer invertebrates (phyla Arthropoda, Rotifera, Tardigrada), was observed in moss-dominated biocrusts. The class Bdelloidea and the family Hypsibiidae (phyla Rotifera and Tardigrada, respectively) were metazoan indicator taxon in bryophyte carpet, suggesting their potential role in shaping structure and function of this late successional stage. Nitrogen and phosphorus were the main physicochemical limiting factors driving the shift among different crust/biocrust successional stages. Identification and characterization of indicator taxa, biological intra- and inter-kingdom interactions and abiotic factors driving the shift among different crust/biocrust successional stages provide a detailed picture on crust/biocrust dynamics, revealing a strong interconnection among micro- and macrobiota systems. These findings enhance our understanding of biocrust ecosystems in High Arctic, providing valuable insights for their conservation and management in response to environmental shifts due to climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gianmarco Mugnai
- Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Perugia, Borgo XX Giugno, 74, Perugia 06121, Italy.
| | - Irina Pinchuk
- Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Perugia, Borgo XX Giugno, 74, Perugia 06121, Italy
| | - Luigimaria Borruso
- Faculty of Agricultural, Environmental and Food Science, Free University of Bolzano-Bozen, Bozen-Bolzano, 39100, Italy
| | - Raphael Tiziani
- Faculty of Agricultural, Environmental and Food Science, Free University of Bolzano-Bozen, Bozen-Bolzano, 39100, Italy
| | - Ciro Sannino
- Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Perugia, Borgo XX Giugno, 74, Perugia 06121, Italy
| | - Fabiana Canini
- Department of Ecological and Biological Sciences, University of Tuscia, Viterbo 01100, Italy
| | - Benedetta Turchetti
- Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Perugia, Borgo XX Giugno, 74, Perugia 06121, Italy
| | - Tanja Mimmo
- Faculty of Agricultural, Environmental and Food Science, Free University of Bolzano-Bozen, Bozen-Bolzano, 39100, Italy
| | - Laura Zucconi
- Department of Ecological and Biological Sciences, University of Tuscia, Viterbo 01100, Italy
| | - Pietro Buzzini
- Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Perugia, Borgo XX Giugno, 74, Perugia 06121, Italy
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Zhou H, Li L, Liu Y. Biological soil crust development affects bacterial communities in the Caragana microphylla community in alpine sandy areas. Front Microbiol 2023; 14:1106739. [PMID: 37007529 PMCID: PMC10050341 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1106739] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2022] [Accepted: 02/28/2023] [Indexed: 03/17/2023] Open
Abstract
IntroductionBiological soil crusts (BSCs) constitute a substantial portion of primary production in dryland ecosystems. They successionally mature to deliver a series of ecosystem services. Bacteria, as an important community in BSCs, play critical roles in maintaining the structure and functions of BSCs. However, the process by which bacterial diversity and community are altered with BSC development is not fully understood.MethodsIn this study, amplicons sequencing was used to investigate bacterial diversity and community compositions across five developmental stages of BSCs (bare sand, microbial crusts, algae crusts, lichen crusts, and moss crusts) and their relationship with environmental variables in the Gonghe basin sandy land in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, northwestern China.ResultsThe results showed that Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Cyanobacteria, Acidobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Firmicutes were predominant in different developmental stages of BSCs, accounting for more than 77% of the total relative abundance. The phyla of Acidobacteria and Bacteroidetes were abundant in this region. With BSC development, bacterial diversity significantly increased, and the taxonomic community composition significantly altered. The relative abundance of copiotrophic bacteria, such as Actinobacteria, Acidobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Verrucomicrobia, Planctomycetes, and Gemmatimonadetes significantly increased, whereas the relative abundance of oligotrophic bacteria, such as Proteobacteria and Firmicutes significantly decreased. The relative abundance of Cyanobacteria in the algae crusts was significantly higher than that in the other developmental stages (p < 0.05).ConclusionVariations in bacterial composition suggested that the potential ecological functions of the bacterial community were altered with BSC development. The functions varied from enhancing soil surface stability by promoting soil particle cementation in the early stages to promoting material circulation of the ecosystem by fixing carbon and nitrogen and decomposing litter in the later stages of BSC development. Bacterial community is a sensitive index of water and nutrient alterations during BSC development. SWC, pH value, TC, TOC, TN, NO3−, TP and soil texture were the primary environmental variables that promoted changes in the bacterial community composition of BSCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hong Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Plateau Ecology and Agriculture, Qinghai University, Xining, China
- Qinghai Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, Xining, China
| | - Lun Li
- Qilian Mountain National Park Qinghai Service Guarantee Center, Xining, China
| | - Yunxiang Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Plateau Ecology and Agriculture, Qinghai University, Xining, China
- Qinghai Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, Xining, China
- *Correspondence: Yunxiang Liu,
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Pushkareva E, Elster J, Holzinger A, Niedzwiedz S, Becker B. Biocrusts from Iceland and Svalbard: Does microbial community composition differ substantially? Front Microbiol 2022; 13:1048522. [PMID: 36590427 PMCID: PMC9800606 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.1048522] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2022] [Accepted: 11/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
A wide range of microorganisms inhabit biocrusts of arctic and sub-arctic regions. These taxa live and thrive under extreme conditions and, moreover, play important roles in biogeochemical cycling. Nevertheless, their diversity and abundance remain ambiguous. Here, we studied microbial community composition in biocrusts from Svalbard and Iceland using amplicon sequencing and epifluorescence microscopy. Sequencing of 16S rRNA gene revealed the dominance of Chloroflexi in the biocrusts from Iceland and Longyearbyen, and Acidobacteria in the biocrusts from Ny-Ålesund and South Svalbard. Within the 18S rRNA gene sequencing dataset, Chloroplastida prevailed in all the samples with dominance of Trebouxiophyceae in the biocrusts from Ny-Ålesund and Embryophyta in the biocrusts from the other localities. Furthermore, cyanobacterial number of cells and biovolume exceeded the microalgal in the biocrusts. Community compositions in the studied sites were correlated to the measured chemical parameters such as conductivity, pH, soil organic matter and mineral nitrogen contents. In addition, co-occurrence analysis showed the dominance of positive potential interactions and, bacterial and eukaryotic taxa co-occurred more frequently together.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ekaterina Pushkareva
- Department of Biology, Botanical Institute, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany,*Correspondence: Ekaterina Pushkareva,
| | - Josef Elster
- Institute of Botany, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Trebon, Czechia,Centre for Polar Ecology, University of South Bohemia, Ceske Budejovice, Czechia
| | - Andreas Holzinger
- Functional Plant Biology, Department of Botany, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Sarina Niedzwiedz
- Marine Botany, Faculty of Biology and Chemistry & MARUM, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany
| | - Burkhard Becker
- Department of Biology, Botanical Institute, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
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Salazar A, Warshan D, Vasquez‐Mejia C, Andrésson ÓS. Environmental change alters nitrogen fixation rates and microbial parameters in a subarctic biological soil crust. OIKOS 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.09239] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Alejandro Salazar
- Faculty of Environmental and Forest Sciences, Agricultural Univ. of Iceland Reykjavik Iceland
| | - Denis Warshan
- Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, Univ. of Iceland Reykjavik Iceland
| | | | - Ólafur S. Andrésson
- Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, Univ. of Iceland Reykjavik Iceland
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