1. |
- Asari, Shashidar, et al.
(author)
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Multiple effects of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens volatile compounds: plant growth promotion and growth inhibition of phytopathogens
- 2016
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In: FEMS Microbiology Ecology. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0168-6496 .- 1574-6941. ; 92
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Biotic interactions through volatile organic compounds (VOC) are frequent in nature. This investigation aimed to study the role of Bacillus VOC for the beneficial effects on plants observed as improved growth and pathogen control. Four Bacillus amyloliquefaciens subsp. plantarum strains were screened for VOC effects on Arabidopsis thaliana Col-0 seedlings and Brassica fungal phytopathogens. VOC from all four Bacillus strains could promote growth of Arabidopsis plants resulting in increased shoot biomass but the effects were dependent on the growth medium. Dose response studies with UCMB5113 on MS agar with or without root exudates showed significant plant growth promotion even at low levels of bacteria. Bacillus VOC antagonized growth of several fungal pathogens in vitro. However, the plant growth promotion efficacy and fungal inhibition potency varied among the Bacillus strains. VOC inhibition of several phytopathogens indicated efficient microbial antagonism supporting high rhizosphere competence of the Bacillus strains. GC-MS analysis identified several VOC structures where the profiles differed depending on the growth medium. The ability of Bacillus strains to produce both volatile and soluble compounds for plant growth promotion and disease biocontrol provides examples of rhizosphere microbes as an important ecosystem service with high potential to support sustainable crop production.
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2. |
- Bagnoud, Alexandre, et al.
(author)
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A minimalistic microbial food web in an excavated deep subsurface clay rock
- 2016
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In: FEMS Microbiology Ecology. - : Oxford University Press. - 0168-6496 .- 1574-6941. ; 92:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Clay rocks are being considered for radioactive waste disposal, but relatively little is known about the impact of microbes on the long-term safety of geological repositories. Thus, a more complete understanding of microbial community structure and function in these environments would provide further detail for the evaluation of the safety of geological disposal of radioactive waste in clay rocks. It would also provide a unique glimpse into a poorly studied deep subsurface microbial ecosystem. Previous studies concluded that microorganisms were present in pristine Opalinus Clay, but inactive. In this work, we describe the microbial community and assess the metabolic activities taking place within borehole water. Metagenomic sequencing and genome-binning of a porewater sample containing suspended clay particles revealed a remarkably simple heterotrophic microbial community, fueled by sedimentary organic carbon, mainly composed of two organisms: a Pseudomonas sp. fermenting bacterium growing on organic macromolecules and releasing organic acids and H-2, and a sulfate-reducing Peptococcaceae able to oxidize organic molecules to CO2. In Opalinus Clay, this microbial system likely thrives where pore space allows it. In a repository, this may occur where the clay rock has been locally damaged by excavation or in engineered backfills.
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3. |
- Baltar, Federico, et al.
(author)
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Response of rare, common and abundant bacterioplankton to anthropogenic perturbations in a Mediterranean coastal site
- 2015
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In: FEMS Microbiology Ecology. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0168-6496 .- 1574-6941. ; 91:6
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Bacterioplankton communities are made up of a small set of abundant taxa and a large number of low-abundant organisms (i.e. 'rare biosphere'). Despite the critical role played by bacteria in marine ecosystems, it remains unknown how this large diversity of organisms are affected by human-induced perturbations, or what controls the responsiveness of rare compared to abundant bacteria. We studied the response of a Mediterranean bacterioplankton community to two anthropogenic perturbations (i.e. nutrient enrichment and/or acidification) in two mesocosm experiments (in winter and summer). Nutrient enrichment increased the relative abundance of some operational taxonomic units (OTUs), e.g. Polaribacter, Tenacibaculum, Rhodobacteraceae and caused a relative decrease in others (e.g. Croceibacter). Interestingly, a synergistic effect of acidification and nutrient enrichment was observed on specific OTUs (e.g. SAR86). We analyzed the OTUs that became abundant at the end of the experiments and whether they belonged to the rare (<0.1% of relative abundance), the common (0.1-1.0% of relative abundance) or the abundant (>1% relative abundance) fractions. Most of the abundant OTUs at the end of the experiments were abundant, or at least common, in the original community of both experiments, suggesting that ecosystem alterations do not necessarily call for rare members to grow.
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4. |
- Baskaran, Preetisri, et al.
(author)
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Nitrogen dynamics of decomposing Scots pine needle litter depends on colonizing fungal species
- 2019
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In: FEMS Microbiology Ecology. - : Oxford University Press. - 0168-6496 .- 1574-6941. ; 95:6
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In boreal ecosystems plant production is often limited by low availability of nitrogen. Nitrogen retention in below-ground organic pools plays an important role in restricting recirculation to plants and thereby hampers forest production. Saprotrophic fungi are commonly assigned to different decomposer strategies, but how these relate to nitrogen cycling remains to be understood. Decomposition of Scots pine needle litter was studied in axenic microcosms with the ligninolytic litter decomposing basidiomycete Gymnopus androsaceus or the stress tolerant ascomycete Chalara longipes. Changes in chemical composition were followed by 13C CP/MAS NMR spectroscopy and nitrogen dynamics was assessed by the addition of a 15N tracer. Decomposition by C. longipes resulted in nitrogen retention in non-hydrolysable organic matter, enriched in aromatic and alkylic compounds, whereas the ligninolytic G. androsaceus was able to access this pool, counteracting nitrogen retention. Our observations suggest that differences in decomposing strategies between fungal species play an important role in regulating nitrogen retention and release during litter decomposition, implying that fungal community composition may impact nitrogen cycling at the ecosystem level.
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5. |
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6. |
- Brandström Durling, Mikael, et al.
(author)
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Deciphering the genome and secondary metabolome of the plant pathogen Fusarium culmorum
- 2018
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In: FEMS Microbiology Ecology. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0168-6496 .- 1574-6941. ; 94
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Fusarium culmorum is one of the most important fungal plant pathogens that causes diseases on a wide diversity of cereal and non-cereal crops. We report herein for the first time the genome sequence of F. culmorum strain PV and its associated secondary metabolome that plays a role in the interaction with other microorganisms and contributes to its pathogenicity on plants. The genome revealed the presence of two terpene synthases, trichodiene and longiborneol synthase, which generate an array of volatile terpenes. Furthermore, we identified two gene clusters, deoxynivalenol and zearalenone, which encode for the production of mycotoxins. Linking the production of mycotoxins with in vitro bioassays, we found high virulence of F. culmorum PV on maize, barley and wheat. By using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, we confirmed several compounds important for the behaviour and lifestyle of F. culmorum. This research sets the basis for future studies in microbe-plant interactions.
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7. |
- Bugge Harder, Christoffer, et al.
(author)
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Successional trophic complexity and biogeographical structure of eukaryotic communities in waterworks' rapid sand filters
- 2019
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In: FEMS Microbiology Ecology. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0168-6496 .- 1574-6941. ; 95:11
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- As groundwater-fed waterworks clean their raw inlet water with sand filters, a variety of pro-and eukaryotic microbial communities develop on these filters. While several studies have targeted the prokaryotic sand filter communities, little is known about the eukaryotic communities, despite the obvious need for knowledge of microorganisms that get in contact with human drinking water. With a new general eukaryotic primer set (18S, V1-V3 region), we performed FLX-454 sequencing of material from 21 waterworks' sand filters varying in age (3-40 years) and geographical location on a 250 km east-west axis in Denmark, and put the data in context of their previously published prokaryotic communities. We find that filters vary highly in trophic complexity depending on age, from simple systems with bacteria and protozoa (3-6 years) to complex, mature systems with nematodes, rotifers and turbellarians as apex predators (40 years). Unlike the bacterial communities, the eukaryotic communities display a clear distance-decay relationship that predominates over environmental variations, indicating that the underlying aquifers feeding the filters harbor distinct eukaryotic communities with limited dispersal in between. Our findings have implications for waterworks' filter management, and offer a window down to the largely unexplored eukaryotic microbiology of groundwater aquifers.
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8. |
- Camenzind, Tessa, et al.
(author)
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Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal and soil microbial communities in African Dark Earths
- 2018
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In: FEMS Microbiology Ecology. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0168-6496 .- 1574-6941. ; 94:4
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The socio-economic values of fertile and carbon-rich Dark Earth soils are well described from the Amazon region. Very recently, Dark Earth soils were also identified in tropical West Africa, with comparable beneficial soil properties and plant growth-promoting effects. The impact of this management technique on soil microbial communities, however, is less well understood, especially with respect to the ecologically relevant group of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi. Thus, we tested the hypotheses that (1) improved soil quality in African Dark Earth (AfDE) will increase soil microbial biomass and shift community composition and (2) concurrently increased nutrient availability will negatively affect AM fungal communities. Microbial communities were distinct in AfDE in comparison to adjacent sites, with an increased fungal:bacterial ratio of 71%, a pattern mainly related to shifts in pH. AM fungal abundance and diversity, however, did not differ despite clearly increased soil fertility in AfDE, with 3.7 and 1.7 times greater extractable P and total N content, respectively. The absence of detrimental effects on AM fungi, often seen following applications of inorganic fertilizers, and the enhanced role of saprobic fungi relevant for mineralization and C sequestration support previous assertions of this management type as a sustainable alternative agricultural practice.
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9. |
- Carrier, Tyler J., et al.
(author)
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Geographic location and food availability offer differing levels of influence on the bacterial communities associated with larval sea urchins
- 2019
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In: FEMS Microbiology Ecology. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0168-6496 .- 1574-6941. ; 95:8
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- © 2019 FEMS. Determining the factors underlying the assembly, structure, and diversity of symbiont communities remains a focal point of animal-microbiome research. Much of these efforts focus on taxonomic variation of microbiota within or between animal populations, but rarely test the proportional impacts of ecological components that may affect animal-associated microbiota. Using larvae from the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis from the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, we test the hypothesis that, under natural conditions, inter-population differences in the composition of larval-associated bacterial communities are larger than intra-population variation due to a heterogeneous feeding environment. Despite significant differences in bacterial community structure within each S. droebachiensis larval population based on food availability, development, phenotype, and time, variation in OTU membership and community composition correlated more strongly with geographic location. Moreover, 20-30% of OTUs associated with larvae were specific to a single location while less than 10% were shared. Taken together, these results suggest that inter-populational variation in symbiont communities may be more pronounced than intra-populational variation, and that this difference may suggest that broad-scale ecological variables (e.g., across ocean basins) may mask smaller scale ecological variables (e.g., food availability).
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10. |
- Edman, Mattias, et al.
(author)
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Competitive outcomes between wood-decaying fungi are altered in burnt wood
- 2016
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In: FEMS Microbiology Ecology. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0168-6496 .- 1574-6941. ; 92:6, s. 1-7
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Fire is an important disturbance agent in boreal forests where it creates a wide variety of charred and other types of heat-modified dead wood substrates, yet how these substrates affect fungal community structure and development within wood is poorly understood. We allowed six species of wood-decaying basidiomycetes to compete in pairs in wood-discs that were experimentally burnt before fungal inoculation. The outcomes of interactions in burnt wood differed from those in unburnt control wood for two species:Antrodia sinuosanever lost on burnt wood and won over its competitor in 67% of the trials compared to 40% losses and 20% wins on unburnt wood. In contrast, Ischnoderma benzoinumwon all interactions on unburnt wood compared to 33% on burnt wood. However, the responses differed depending on the identity of the competing species, suggesting an interaction between competitor and substrate type. The observed shift in competitive balance between fungal species probably results from chemical changes in burnt wood, but the underlying mechanism needs further investigation. Nevertheless, the results indicate that forest fires indirectly structure fungal communities by modifying dead wood, and highlight the importance of fire-affected dead wood substrates in boreal forests.
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