Ecoenzymatic stoichiometry at the extremes: How microbes cope in an ultra-oligotrophic desert soil

Tapia-Torres, Yunuen; Elser, James J.; Souza, Valeria; García‐Oliva, Felipe

doi:10.1016/j.soilbio.2015.04.007

Cited by 146 publications

(78 citation statements)

References 51 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The enzymatic ratios of C:N:P acquisition were close to 1:1:1 in both karst and non‐karst forests, except that the relationship between enzyme activity and N and P acquisition in the non‐karst forest was not significant statistically (Figure ), which may be due to the limited number of data samples. Our results were consistent with the previous global‐scale meta‐analysis (Sinsabaugh et al., ) and several regional studies (Hill et al., ; Tapia‐Torres et al., ), which suggested that there exists a functional stoichiometry ratio for C, N and P acquisition. Interestingly, such a 1:1:1 pattern was also found between POX‐normalized enzyme activity of C, N and P acquisition in the current study.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

“…Enzyme activity was normalized to units per gram of available organic carbon using the DOC data that corresponded to each sample, for calculating ratio of enzymes, threshold elemental ratio (TER), vector angle and length, carbon use efficiency (CUE) and modelled decomposition rate ( M ). Unlike previous work in which the total organic carbon value was used for normalization of enzyme activity (Sinsabaugh, ; Sinsabaugh et al., ), we used DOC, because we considered it to be a better indicator of availability of soil C (Tapia‐Torres et al., ). However, only for the purpose of comparing the enzyme activity in this study with other studies, enzyme activity was normalized to units per g of SOC (Table S2).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, ecoenzymatic stoichiometry has the advantage that it provides the information for modelling microbial processes of organic matter, such as the decomposition rate of soil organic carbon (SOC) and microbial respiration rate (Hill et al, 2014). Using this method, many studies have reported microbial resource limitation and rates of microbial processes in different regions or ecosystems (Hill et al, 2014;Sinsabaugh & Follstad Shah, 2011;Tapia-Torres, Elser, Souza, & García-Oliva, 2015). To our knowledge, however, none of these studies were conducted in the karst ecosystems.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Soil microbial processes and resource limitation in karst and non‐karst forests

et al. 2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Soil micro‐organisms play a key role in soil biogeochemical cycles, but their growth and activities are often limited by resource availability. Understanding soil processes that are driven by micro‐organisms and resource limitation of microbes will help to elucidate controls on soil fertility and improve the ability to predict the responses of an ecosystem to global changes. As a widespread ecosystem type, karst ecosystem develops from limestone or dolomite with unique soil; however, karst ecosystems remain poorly understood regarding their soil microbial processes and microbial resource limitation. Here, ecoenzymatic stoichiometry was used as an indicator of microbial resource limitation, and to model major microbial processes (i.e. decomposition of soil organic carbon and microbial respiration) in a karst and a non‐karst forest. Results showed that the modelled decomposition and respiration rates were significantly higher in the karst forest than in the non‐karst forest. In addition, results of ecoenzymatic stoichiometry showed that the karst forest was more carbon‐limited than the non‐karst forest. In contrast, the karst forest was likely saturated with nitrogen, but the non‐karst forest was limited by nitrogen. Both the karst and non‐karst forests were limited by phosphorus, but phosphorus deficiency was more evident in the non‐karst forest than in the karst forest. These findings highlight the specific profiles of karst ecosystems, and they suggest that the responses of karst ecosystems to global changes should be very different compared to other ecosystems. A http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2435.13069/suppinfo is available for this article.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Soil microbial processes and resource limitation in karst and non‐karst forests

et al. 2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Previous studies have described the great biodiversity of vertebrates, invertebrates, and plants (22)(23)(24), as well as of prokaryotes (25)(26)(27)(28)(29), found in CCB. This high biodiversity is particularly interesting since CCB is very poor in nutrients (30,31) and has a low primary productivity (31). The diversity of CCB has been associated mainly with local adaptations and has shown a high divergence between each of its sequenced microbialite communities and the rest of the world.…”

Section: Abstract Bacteriophages Shotgun Metagenomics Virusesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Geographic Structure of Viruses in the Cuatro Ciénegas Basin, a Unique Oasis in Northern Mexico, Reveals a Highly Diverse Population on a Small Geographic Scale

Taboada

Isa

Gutiérrez-Escolano

et al. 2018

Appl Environ Microbiol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The Cuatro Ciénegas Basin (CCB) is located in the Chihuahuan desert in the Mexican state of Coahuila; it has been characterized as a site with high biological diversity despite its extreme oligotrophic conditions. It has the greatest number of endemic species in North America, containing abundant living microbialites (including stromatolites and microbial mats) and diverse microbial communities. With the hypothesis that this high biodiversity and the geographic structure should be reflected in the virome, the viral communities in 11 different locations of three drainage systems, Churince, La Becerra, and Pozas Rojas, and in the intestinal contents of 3 different fish species, were analyzed for both eukaryotic and prokaryotic RNA and DNA viruses using next-generation sequencing methods. Double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) virus families were the most abundant (72.5% of reads), followed by single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) viruses (2.9%) and ssRNA and dsRNA virus families (0.5%). Thirteen families had dsDNA genomes, five had ssDNA, three had dsRNA, and 16 had ssRNA. A highly diverse viral community was found, with an ample range of hosts and a strong geographical structure, with very even distributions and signals of endemicity in the phylogenetic trees from several different virus families. The majority of viruses found were bacteriophages but eukaryotic viruses were also frequent, and the large diversity of viruses related to algae were a surprise, since algae are not evident in the previously analyzed aquatic systems of this ecosystem. Animal viruses were also frequently found, showing the large diversity of aquatic animals in this oasis, where plants, protozoa, and archaea are rare. In this study, we tested whether the high biodiversity and geographic structure of CCB is reflected in its virome. CCB is an extraordinarily biodiverse oasis in the Chihuahuan desert, where a previous virome study suggested that viruses had followed the marine ancestry of the marine bacteria and, as a result of their long isolation, became endemic to the site. In this study, which includes a larger sequencing coverage and water samples from other sites within the valley, we confirmed the high virus biodiversity and uniqueness as well as the strong biogeographical diversification of the CCB. In addition, we also analyzed fish intestinal contents, finding that each fish species eats different prey and, as a result, presents different viral compositions even if they coexist in the same pond. These facts highlight the high and novel virus diversity of CCB and its "lost world" status.

show abstract

“…Manuscript to be reviewed (CCB), which is the study site of the present investigation, is part of the Chihuahuan desert and is considered the most important wetland of Mexico for its high levels of endemism and biodiversity (Souza et al 2011). Moreover, the CCB has been listed as an ultra-oligotrophic site due to low P concentrations in the water and soil, which can constitute a strong potential for P limitation of microbial growth (Elser et al 2005;Tapia-Torres et al 2015a). A study in the CCB desert reported that, in the same soil type with different vegetation cover (grassland and desert scrub) differences in OM content promotes variation in DOC concentration, which represents the main energy source for soil microorganisms (Tapia-Torres et al 2015b).…”

Section: Manuscript To Be Reviewedmentioning

confidence: 99%

Peer Review #2 of "The response of soil microbial communities to variation in annual precipitation depends on soil nutritional status in an oligotrophic desert (v0.2)"

2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background. Soil microbial communities (SMC) play a central role in the structure and function of desert ecosystems. However, the high variability of annual precipitation could results in the alteration of SMC and related biological processes depending on soil water potential. The nature of the physiological adjustments made by SMC in order to obtain energy and nutrients remains unclear under different soil resource availabilities in desert ecosystems. In order to examine this dynamic, the present study examined the effects of variation in annual precipitation on physiological adjustments by the SMC across two vegetation-soil systems of different soil organic matter input in an oligotrophic desert ecosystem. Methods. We collected soil samples in the Cuatro Ciénegas Basin (Mexico) under two vegetation covers: rosetophylous scrub (RS) and grassland (G), that differ in terms of quantity and quality of organic matter. Collections were conducted during the years 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014, over which a noticeable variation in the annual precipitation occurred. The ecoenzymatic activity involved in the decomposition of organic matter, and the concentration of dissolved, available and microbial biomass nutrients, were determined and compared between sites and years. Results. In 2011, we observed differences in bacterial taxonomic composition between the two vegetation covers. The lowest values of dissolved, available and microbial nutrients in both cover types were found in 2012. The G soil showed higher values of dissolved and available nutrients in the wet years. Significant positive correlations were detected between precipitation and the ratios Cmic:Nmic and Cmic:Pmic in the RS soil and Cmic:Pmic and Nmic:Pmic in the G soil. The slopes of the regression with Cmic and Nmic were higher in the G soil and lower in the RS soil. Moreover, the SMC under each vegetation cover were co-limited by different nutrients and responded to the sum of water stress and nutrient limitation. Discussion.

show abstract

Ecoenzymatic stoichiometry at the extremes: How microbes cope in an ultra-oligotrophic desert soil

Cited by 146 publications

References 51 publications

Soil microbial processes and resource limitation in karst and non‐karst forests

Soil microbial processes and resource limitation in karst and non‐karst forests

The Geographic Structure of Viruses in the Cuatro Ciénegas Basin, a Unique Oasis in Northern Mexico, Reveals a Highly Diverse Population on a Small Geographic Scale

Peer Review #2 of "The response of soil microbial communities to variation in annual precipitation depends on soil nutritional status in an oligotrophic desert (v0.2)"

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About