Abstract
Biological soil crusts (BSCs) are key components of ecosystem productivity in arid lands and they cover a substantial fraction of the terrestrial surface. In particular, BSC N 2 -fixation contributes significantly to the nitrogen (N) budget of arid land ecosystems. In mature crusts, N 2 -fixation is largely attributed to heterocystous cyanobacteria; however, early successional crusts possess few N 2 -fixing cyanobacteria and this suggests that microorganisms other than cyanobacteria mediate N 2 -fixation during the critical early stages of BSC development. DNA stable isotope probing with 15 N 2 revealed that Clostridiaceae and Proteobacteria are the most common microorganisms that assimilate 15 N 2 in early successional crusts. The Clostridiaceae identified are divergent from previously characterized isolates, though N 2 -fixation has previously been observed in this family. The Proteobacteria identified share >98.5% small subunit rRNA gene sequence identity with isolates from genera known to possess diazotrophs (for example, Pseudomonas, Klebsiella, Shigella and Ideonella). The low abundance of these heterotrophic diazotrophs in BSCs may explain why they have not been characterized previously. Diazotrophs have a critical role in BSC formation and characterization of these organisms represents a crucial step towards understanding how anthropogenic change will affect the formation and ecological function of BSCs in arid ecosystems.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 287-298 |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| Journal | ISME Journal |
| Volume | 10 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Feb 1 2016 |
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ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
- Microbiology
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Non-cyanobacterial diazotrophs mediate dinitrogen fixation in biological soil crusts during early crust formation. / Pepe-Ranney, Charles; Koechli, Chantal; Potrafka, Ruth; Andam, Cheryl; Eggleston, Erin; Garcia-Pichel, Ferran; Buckley, Daniel H.
In: ISME Journal, Vol. 10, No. 2, 01.02.2016, p. 287-298.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Non-cyanobacterial diazotrophs mediate dinitrogen fixation in biological soil crusts during early crust formation
AU - Pepe-Ranney, Charles
AU - Koechli, Chantal
AU - Potrafka, Ruth
AU - Andam, Cheryl
AU - Eggleston, Erin
AU - Garcia-Pichel, Ferran
AU - Buckley, Daniel H.
PY - 2016/2/1
Y1 - 2016/2/1
N2 - Biological soil crusts (BSCs) are key components of ecosystem productivity in arid lands and they cover a substantial fraction of the terrestrial surface. In particular, BSC N 2 -fixation contributes significantly to the nitrogen (N) budget of arid land ecosystems. In mature crusts, N 2 -fixation is largely attributed to heterocystous cyanobacteria; however, early successional crusts possess few N 2 -fixing cyanobacteria and this suggests that microorganisms other than cyanobacteria mediate N 2 -fixation during the critical early stages of BSC development. DNA stable isotope probing with 15 N 2 revealed that Clostridiaceae and Proteobacteria are the most common microorganisms that assimilate 15 N 2 in early successional crusts. The Clostridiaceae identified are divergent from previously characterized isolates, though N 2 -fixation has previously been observed in this family. The Proteobacteria identified share >98.5% small subunit rRNA gene sequence identity with isolates from genera known to possess diazotrophs (for example, Pseudomonas, Klebsiella, Shigella and Ideonella). The low abundance of these heterotrophic diazotrophs in BSCs may explain why they have not been characterized previously. Diazotrophs have a critical role in BSC formation and characterization of these organisms represents a crucial step towards understanding how anthropogenic change will affect the formation and ecological function of BSCs in arid ecosystems.
AB - Biological soil crusts (BSCs) are key components of ecosystem productivity in arid lands and they cover a substantial fraction of the terrestrial surface. In particular, BSC N 2 -fixation contributes significantly to the nitrogen (N) budget of arid land ecosystems. In mature crusts, N 2 -fixation is largely attributed to heterocystous cyanobacteria; however, early successional crusts possess few N 2 -fixing cyanobacteria and this suggests that microorganisms other than cyanobacteria mediate N 2 -fixation during the critical early stages of BSC development. DNA stable isotope probing with 15 N 2 revealed that Clostridiaceae and Proteobacteria are the most common microorganisms that assimilate 15 N 2 in early successional crusts. The Clostridiaceae identified are divergent from previously characterized isolates, though N 2 -fixation has previously been observed in this family. The Proteobacteria identified share >98.5% small subunit rRNA gene sequence identity with isolates from genera known to possess diazotrophs (for example, Pseudomonas, Klebsiella, Shigella and Ideonella). The low abundance of these heterotrophic diazotrophs in BSCs may explain why they have not been characterized previously. Diazotrophs have a critical role in BSC formation and characterization of these organisms represents a crucial step towards understanding how anthropogenic change will affect the formation and ecological function of BSCs in arid ecosystems.
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U2 - 10.1038/ismej.2015.106
DO - 10.1038/ismej.2015.106
M3 - Article
VL - 10
SP - 287
EP - 298
JO - ISME Journal
JF - ISME Journal
SN - 1751-7362
IS - 2
ER -