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Zhang E, Wong SY, Czechowski P, Terauds A, Ray AE, Benaud N, Chelliah DS, Wilkins D, Montgomery K, Ferrari BC. Effects of increasing soil moisture on Antarctic desert microbial ecosystems. CONSERVATION BIOLOGY : THE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR CONSERVATION BIOLOGY 2024; 38:e14268. [PMID: 38622950 DOI: 10.1111/cobi.14268] [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: 05/29/2023] [Revised: 01/28/2024] [Accepted: 02/02/2024] [Indexed: 04/17/2024]
Abstract
Overgeneralization and a lack of baseline data for microorganisms in high-latitude environments have restricted the understanding of the microbial response to climate change, which is needed to establish Antarctic conservation frameworks. To bridge this gap, we examined over 17,000 sequence variants of bacteria and microeukarya across the hyperarid Vestfold Hills and Windmill Islands regions of eastern Antarctica. Using an extended gradient forest model, we quantified multispecies response to variations along 79 edaphic gradients to explore the effects of change and wind-driven dispersal on community dynamics under projected warming trends. We also analyzed a second set of soil community data from the Windmill Islands to test our predictions of major environmental tipping points. Soil moisture was the most robust predictor for shaping the regional soil microbiome; the highest rates of compositional turnover occurred at 10-12% soil moisture threshold for photoautotrophs, such as Cyanobacteria, Chlorophyta, and Ochrophyta. Dust profiles revealed a high dispersal propensity for Chlamydomonas, a microalga, and higher biomass was detected at trafficked research stations. This could signal the potential for algal blooms and increased nonendemic species dispersal as human activities increase in the region. Predicted increases in moisture availability on the Windmill Islands were accompanied by high photoautotroph abundances. Abundances of rare oligotrophic taxa, such as Eremiobacterota and Candidatus Dormibacterota, which play a crucial role in atmospheric chemosynthesis, declined over time. That photosynthetic taxa increased as soil moisture increased under a warming scenario suggests the potential for competition between primary production strategies and thus a more biotically driven ecosystem should the climate become milder. Better understanding of environmental triggers will aid conservation efforts, and it is crucial that long-term monitoring of our study sites be established for the protection of Antarctic desert ecosystems. Furthermore, the successful implementation of an improved gradient forest model presents an exciting opportunity to broaden its use on microbial systems globally.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eden Zhang
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- Evolution and Ecology Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Sin Yin Wong
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- Evolution and Ecology Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Paul Czechowski
- Helmholtz Institute for Metabolic, Obesity and Vascular Research, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Aleks Terauds
- Environmental Stewardship Program, Australian Antarctic Division, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, Kingston, Tasmania, Australia
| | - Angelique E Ray
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Nicole Benaud
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- Evolution and Ecology Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Devan S Chelliah
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- Evolution and Ecology Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Daniel Wilkins
- Environmental Stewardship Program, Australian Antarctic Division, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, Kingston, Tasmania, Australia
| | - Kate Montgomery
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Belinda C Ferrari
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- Evolution and Ecology Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
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Guo P, Li C, Liu J, Chai B. Predation has a significant impact on the complexity and stability of microbial food webs in subalpine lakes. Microbiol Spectr 2023; 11:e0241123. [PMID: 37787559 PMCID: PMC10714739 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.02411-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2023] [Accepted: 08/18/2023] [Indexed: 10/04/2023] Open
Abstract
IMPORTANCE As an important part of microbial food webs, protists transfer organic carbon and nutrients to higher trophic levels in aquatic ecosystems. Protist predation often influences the abundance and composition of bacterial communities. However, we still do not understand whether and how predation affects the complexity and stability of microbial food webs. This study assessed the seasonal dynamic characteristics and driving factors of microbial food webs in terms of complexity and stability. Our findings have implications for future surveys to reveal the effects of climate and environmental changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ping Guo
- Shanxi Key Laboratory of Ecological Restoration on Loess Plateau, Institute of Loess Plateau, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, China
- Central Laboratory, Changzhi Medical College, Changzhi, China
| | - Cui Li
- Faculty of Environment Economics, Shanxi University of Finance and Economics, Taiyuan, China
| | - Jinxain Liu
- Shanxi Key Laboratory of Ecological Restoration on Loess Plateau, Institute of Loess Plateau, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, China
| | - Baofeng Chai
- Shanxi Key Laboratory of Ecological Restoration on Loess Plateau, Institute of Loess Plateau, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, China
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Marasco R, Fusi M, Callegari M, Jucker C, Mapelli F, Borin S, Savoldelli S, Daffonchio D, Crotti E. Destabilization of the Bacterial Interactome Identifies Nutrient Restriction-Induced Dysbiosis in Insect Guts. Microbiol Spectr 2022; 10:e0158021. [PMID: 34985334 PMCID: PMC8729773 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.01580-21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2021] [Accepted: 11/30/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Stress-associated dysbiosis of microbiome can have several configurations that, under an energy landscape conceptual framework, can change from one configuration to another due to different alternating selective forces. It has been proposed-according to the Anna Karenina Principle-that in stressed individuals the microbiome are more dispersed (i.e., with a higher within-beta diversity), evidencing the grade of dispersion as indicator of microbiome dysbiosis. We hypothesize that although dysbiosis leads to different microbial communities in terms of beta diversity, these are not necessarily differently dispersed (within-beta diversity), but they form disrupted networks that make them less resilient to stress. To test our hypothesis, we select nutrient restriction (NR) stress that impairs host fitness but does not introduce overt microbiome selectors, such as toxic compounds and pathogens. We fed the polyphagous black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens, with two NR diets and a control full-nutrient (FN) diet. NR diets were dysbiotic because they strongly affected insect growth and development, inducing significant microscale changes in physiochemical conditions of the gut compartments. NR diets established new configurations of the gut microbiome compared to FN-fed guts but with similar dispersion. However, these new configurations driven by the deterministic changes induced by NR diets were reflected in rarefied, less structured, and less connected bacterial interactomes. These results suggested that while the dispersion cannot be considered a consistent indicator of the unhealthy state of dysbiotic microbiomes, the capacity of the community members to maintain network connections and stability can be an indicator of the microbial dysbiotic conditions and their incapacity to sustain the holobiont resilience and host homeostasis. IMPORTANCE Changes in diet play a role in reshaping the gut microbiome in animals, inducing dysbiotic configurations of the associated microbiome. Although studies have reported on the effects of specific nutrient contents on the diet, studies regarding the conditions altering the microbiome configurations and networking in response to diet changes are limited. Our results showed that nutrient poor diets determine dysbiotic states of the host with reduction of insect weight and size, and increase of the times for developmental stage. Moreover, the poor nutrient diets lead to changes in the compositional diversity and network interaction properties of the gut microbial communities. Our study adds a new component to the understanding of the ecological processes associated with dysbiosis, by disentangling consequences of diets on microbiome dysbiosis that is manifested with the disruption of microbiome networking properties rather than changes in microbiome dispersion and beta diversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ramona Marasco
- Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering Division (BESE), Red Sea Research Center (RSRC), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
| | - Marco Fusi
- Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering Division (BESE), Red Sea Research Center (RSRC), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
| | - Matteo Callegari
- Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering Division (BESE), Red Sea Research Center (RSRC), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
| | - Costanza Jucker
- Department of Food, Environmental and Nutritional Sciences (DeFENS), University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - Francesca Mapelli
- Department of Food, Environmental and Nutritional Sciences (DeFENS), University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - Sara Borin
- Department of Food, Environmental and Nutritional Sciences (DeFENS), University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - Sara Savoldelli
- Department of Food, Environmental and Nutritional Sciences (DeFENS), University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - Daniele Daffonchio
- Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering Division (BESE), Red Sea Research Center (RSRC), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
| | - Elena Crotti
- Department of Food, Environmental and Nutritional Sciences (DeFENS), University of Milan, Milan, Italy
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