Dual use of solar power plants as biocrust nurseries for large-scale arid soil restoration

Heredia-Velásquez, Ana Mercedes; Giraldo-Silva, Ana; Nelson, Corey; Bethany, Julie; Kut, Patrick; González-de-Salceda, Luis; García-Pichel, Ferrán

doi:10.1038/s41893-023-01106-8

Cited by 7 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 53 publications

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“…After collection, pore water or spent media were filter-sterilized and stored at 4°C for less than 48 h before filtration through 5 KDa MWCO 500-μL spin filters (Cytiva, Vivaspin) at 6000 g for 30 min and then stored at −20°C until analysis. GABA was measured spectrophotometrically by a coupled enzyme assay with a GABase mixture (Sigma) where GABA is converted to succinic semialdehyde and then to succinate with concurrent production of NADPH, whose absorbance can be measured at 340 nm [ 33 , 34 ] and converted to concentrations using an extinction coefficient of 6220 M −1 cm −1 , and where [NADPH] = [GABA]. Reactions contained 25 μL of the sample and 75 μL of GABase assay mix (10 mM ßME, 2 mM α-ketoglutarate, 600 μM NADP+, 30 μg (0.015 U/mL) [ 35 ] of GABase in 50 mM Tris–HCl, pH 8.6) and were incubated at room temperature for 90 min.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial organization of a soil cyanobacterium and its cyanosphere through GABA/Glu signaling to optimize mutualistic nitrogen fixation

Nelson,

Dadi,

Shah

et al. 2024

The ISME Journal

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Soil biocrusts are characterized by the spatial self-organization of resident microbial populations at small scales. The cyanobacterium Microcoleus vaginatus, a prominent primary producer and pioneer biocrust former, relies on a mutualistic carbon (C) for nitrogen (N) exchange with its heterotrophic cyanosphere microbiome, a mutualism that may be optimized through the ability of the cyanobacterium to aggregate into bundles of trichomes. Testing both environmental populations and representative isolates, we show that the proximity of mutualistic diazotroph populations results in M. vaginatus bundle formation orchestrated through chemophobic and chemokinetic responses to Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) /Glutamate (Glu) signals. The signaling system is characterized by: 1) high GABA sensitivity (nM range) and low Glu sensitivity (μM - mM); 2) GABA and Glu are produced by the cyanobacterium as an autoinduction response to N deficiency; and 3) interspecific signaling by heterotrophs in response to C limitation. Further, it crucially switches from a positive to a negative feed-back loop with increasing GABA concentration, thus setting maximal bundle sizes. The unprecedented use of GABA/Glu as an intra- and interspecific signal in the spatial organization of microbiomes highlights the pair as truly universal infochemicals.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial organization of a soil cyanobacterium and its cyanosphere through GABA/Glu signaling to optimize mutualistic nitrogen fixation

Nelson,

Dadi,

Shah

et al. 2024

The ISME Journal

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…After collection, pore water or spent media were filter-sterilized and stored at 4 • C for less than 48 h before filtration through 5 KDa MWCO 500-μL spin filters (Cytiva, Vivaspin) at 6000 g for 30 min and then stored at −20 • C until analysis. GABA was measured spectrophotometrically by a coupled enzyme assay with a GABase mixture (Sigma) where GABA is converted to succinic semialdehyde and then to succinate with concurrent production of NADPH, whose absorbance can be measured at 340 nm [33,34] and converted to concentrations using an extinction coefficient of 6220 M −1 cm −1 , and where [NADPH] = [GABA]. Reactions contained 25 μL of the sample and 75 μL of GABase assay mix (10 mM ßME, 2 mM αketoglutarate, 600 μM NADP+, 30 μg (0.015 U/mL) [35] of GABase in 50 mM Tris-HCl, pH 8.6) and were incubated at room temperature for 90 min.…”

Section: Determination Of Gaba and Glutamatementioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial organization of a soil cyanobacterium and its cyanosphere through GABA/Glu signaling to optimize mutualistic nitrogen fixation

Nelson,

Dadi,

Shah

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Soil biocrusts are characterized by the spatial self-organization of resident microbial populations at small scales. The cyanobacterium Microcoleus vaginatus, a prominent primary producer and pioneer biocrust former, relies on a mutualistic carbon (C) for nitrogen (N) exchange with its heterotrophic cyanosphere microbiome, a mutualism that may be optimized through the ability of the cyanobacterium to aggregate into bundles of trichomes. Testing both environmental populations and representative isolates, we show that the proximity of mutualistic diazotroph populations results in M. vaginatus bundle formation orchestrated through chemophobic and chemokinetic responses to Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) / Glutamate (Glu) signals. The signaling system is characterized by: 1) high GABA sensitivity (nM range) and low Glu sensitivity (µM - mM); 2) GABA and Glu are produced by the cyanobacterium as an autoinduction response to N deficiency; and 3) interspecific signaling by heterotrophs in response to C limitation. Further, it crucially switches from a positive to a negative feed-back loop with increasing GABA concentration, thus setting maximal bundle sizes. The unprecedented use of GABA/Glu as an intra- and interspecific signal in the spatial organization of microbiomes highlights the pair as truly universal infochemicals.

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“…As crucial biotic components inhabiting the soil‐atmosphere boundary, biocrusts are widely recognized as ecosystem engineers and play pivotal roles in reshaping surface soil properties and multifunctionality (Bowker et al., 2018), such as boosting soil stability (Felde et al., 2018; Rossi et al., 2018), improving soil structure (Sun, Xiao, Li, et al., 2023), retarding wind erosion (Bu et al., 2015; Faist et al., 2017), improving soil aeration (Sun, Xiao, Kidron, & Markus, 2023), altering albedo and energy balance (Rutherford et al., 2017; Xiao & Bowker, 2020), and promoting microbial diversity (Maier et al., 2018). Therefore, it is widely accepted that biocrusts are capable of promoting ecological restoration through mediating the hydrological, biological, and ecological processes (Heredia‐Velásquez et al., 2023). Owing to the limited soil water resources in dryland ecosystems, several biocrust studies have concentrated on the interactions between biocrusts and liquid water, for example, by quantifying how biocrusts can regulate soil water infiltration and water retention (Sun et al., 2021; Xiao, Sun, Yao, et al., 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biocrusts Critical Regulation of Soil Water Vapor Transport (Diffusion, Sorption, and Late‐Stage Evaporation) in Drylands

Sun,

Xiao,

Kidron

et al. 2024

Water Resources Research

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Soil surface cover is one of the most critical factors affecting soil water vapor transport, especially in drylands where water is limited, and the water movement occurs predominantly in the form of vapor instead of liquid. Biocrusts are an important living ground cover of dryland soils and play a vital role in modifying near‐surface soil properties and maintaining soil structure. The role of biocrusts in mediating soil water vapor transport during daytime water evaporation and nighttime condensation remains unclear. We investigated the differences in vapor diffusion properties, vapor adsorption capacity, and water evaporation between bare soil and three types of biocrusts (cyanobacterial, cyanobacterial‐moss mixed, and moss crusts) in the Chinese Loess Plateau. Our results showed that the three types of biocrusts had 5%–39% higher vapor diffusivity than bare soil. At the same level of ambient relative humidity and temperature, the initial vapor adsorption rates and cumulative adsorption amounts of the biocrusts were 10%–70% and 11%–85% higher than those of bare soil, respectively. Additionally, the late‐stage evaporation rate of cyanobacterial‐, cyanobacterial‐moss mixed‐, and moss‐biocrusts were 31%–217%, 79%–492%, and 146%–775% higher than that of bare soil, respectively. The effect of biocrusts on increasing vapor transport properties was attributed to the higher soil porosity, clay content, and specific surface area induced by the biocrust layer. All of these modifications caused by biocrusts on surface soil vapor transport properties suggest that biocrusts play a vital role in reshaping surface soil water and energy balance in drylands.

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Dual use of solar power plants as biocrust nurseries for large-scale arid soil restoration

Cited by 7 publications

References 53 publications

Spatial organization of a soil cyanobacterium and its cyanosphere through GABA/Glu signaling to optimize mutualistic nitrogen fixation

Spatial organization of a soil cyanobacterium and its cyanosphere through GABA/Glu signaling to optimize mutualistic nitrogen fixation

Spatial organization of a soil cyanobacterium and its cyanosphere through GABA/Glu signaling to optimize mutualistic nitrogen fixation

Biocrusts Critical Regulation of Soil Water Vapor Transport (Diffusion, Sorption, and Late‐Stage Evaporation) in Drylands

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