Symbiotic N2-Fixer Community Composition, but Not Diversity, Shifts in Nodules of a Single Host Legume Across a 2-Million-Year Dune Chronosequence

Birnbaum, Christina; Bissett, Andrew; Teste, François P.; Laliberté, Étienne

doi:10.1007/s00248-018-1185-1

Cited by 10 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 77 publications

(132 reference statements)

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“…The chronosequence occurs in a global biodiversity hot spot, and plant diversity increases continually throughout the sequence, driven by environmental filtering from the regional species pool as pH declines during long‐term pedogenesis (Laliberté et al., ). Recent studies have characterized changes in the composition and diversity of specific symbiotic microbial groups along the sequence (Albornoz et al., ; Birnbaum, Bissett, Teste, & Laliberté, ; Krüger et al., ), but there is so far little information on comparable changes in the broader soil microbial community, including non‐symbiotic microbes, although there is a shift from bacterial to fungal energy channels in the below‐ground food web as soils age (Laliberté et al., ). Here, we studied bacterial, archaeal and fungal communities along the Jurien Bay chronosequence.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contrasting patterns of plant and microbial diversity during long‐term ecosystem development

et al. 2019

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Long‐term ecosystem development involves changes in plant community composition and diversity associated with pedogenesis and nutrient availability, but comparable changes in soil microbial communities remain poorly understood. In particular, it is unclear whether the diversity of plants and microbes respond to similar abiotic drivers, or become decoupled as resources change over long time‐scales. We characterized communities of archaea, bacteria and fungi in soils along a 2‐million‐year chronosequence of coastal dunes in a biodiversity hot spot in Western Australia. The chronosequence involves marked changes in soil pH and nutrient availability that drive major shifts in plant community composition and diversity as soils age. Patterns of α‐diversity for microbial groups differed along the chronosequence. Bacterial α‐diversity was greatest in intermediate‐aged soils; archaeal diversity was greater in young alkaline or intermediate‐aged soils, while fungal α‐diversity—like plant diversity—was greatest in old, strongly weathered soils where phosphorus is the limiting nutrient. Changes in microbial community composition along the chronosequence were explained primarily by the long‐term decline in soil pH, with a smaller influence of the relative abundance of plant nutrient‐acquisition strategies. However, changes between the prokaryote and fungal communities, and between fungal and plant communities, became increasingly decoupled along the chronosequence, demonstrating that the coordination of change in biological communities by abiotic drivers becomes weaker during long‐term ecosystem development. Several bacterial taxa, including DA101 (Verrucomicrobia), “Candidatus Solibacter” (Acidobacteria) and Gaiella (Actinobacteria), were particularly abundant on the oldest dunes, indicating that they are adapted to acquire phosphorus from extremely infertile soils. However, we cannot disentangle the influence of phosphorus from the long‐term decline in soil pH along the chronosequence. Synthesis. These results provide evidence for contrasting patterns of plant and microbial community composition and α‐diversity in response to acidification and nutrient depletion during long‐term pedogenesis.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contrasting patterns of plant and microbial diversity during long‐term ecosystem development

et al. 2019

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“…Afkhami and Stinchcombe 2016). Birnbaum et al (2018) investigated symbionts of Acacia rostellifera Benth. across the natural-soil fertility gradient of the Jurien Bay Dune chronosequence.…”

Section: Nitrogen Fixationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Advances in legume research in the genomics era

Egan

Vatanparast

2019

Aust. Syst. Bot.

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Next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies and applications have enabled numerous critical advances in legume biology, from marker discovery to whole-genome sequencing, and will provide many new avenues for legume research in the future. The past 6 years in particular have seen revolutionary advances in legume science because of the use of high-throughput sequencing, including the development of numerous types of markers and data useful for evolutionary studies above and below the species level that have enabled resolution of relationships that were previously unattainable. Such resolution, in turn, affords opportunities for hypothesis testing and inference to improve our understanding of legume biodiversity and the patterns and processes that have created one of the most diverse plant families on earth. In addition, the genomics era has seen significant advances in our understanding of the ecology of legumes, including their role as nitrogen fixers in global ecosystems. The accumulation of genetic and genomic data in the form of sequenced genomes and gene-expression profiles made possible through NGS platforms has also vastly affected plant-breeding and conservation efforts. Here, we summarise the knowledge gains enabled by NGS methods in legume biology from the perspectives of evolution, ecology, and development of genetic and genomic resources.

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“…The absence of negative biotic PSF in N-fixing plant species in old, severely P-impoverished soils might be related to their similar positive responses to soil biota ( Figure S1). These legume species likely possess the ability to form effective symbiotic relationships with a range of N-fixing rhizobia that are ubiquitous in unsterilised soils (Birnbaum, Bissett, Teste, & Laliberté, 2018;Birnbaum, Bissett, Thrall, & Leishman, 2016;Checcucci, DiCenzo, Bazzicalupo, & Mengoni, 2017). Thus, symbiotic associations between N-fixing rhizobia and legumes might compensate for the potential negative effects of soil-borne pathogens if they enable greater investment of N in plant growth or pathogen defence (Menge & Chazdon, 2016;Menge, Levin, & Hedin, 2008;Vitousek & Field, 1999).…”

Section: Psf In Old Severely Phosphorusimpoverished Soilsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biotic and abiotic plant–soil feedback depends on nitrogen‐acquisition strategy and shifts during long‐term ecosystem development

et al. 2018

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Feedback between plants and soil is an important driver of plant community structure, but it remains unclear whether plant–soil feedback (PSF): (i) reflects changes in biotic or abiotic properties, (ii) depends on environmental context in terms of soil nutrient availability, and (iii) varies among plant functional groups. As soil nutrient availability strongly affects plant distribution and performance, soil chemical properties and plant nutrient‐acquisition strategies might serve as important drivers of PSF. We used soils from young and old stages of a long‐term soil chronosequence to represent sites where productivity is limited by nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) availability, respectively. We grew three N‐fixing and three non‐N‐fixing plant species in soils conditioned by co‐occurring conspecific or heterospecific species from each of these two stages. In addition, three soil treatments were used to distinguish biotic and abiotic effects on plant performance, allowing measurements of overall, biotic, and abiotic PSF. In young, N‐poor soils, non‐N‐fixing plants grew better in soils from N‐fixing plants than in their own soils (i.e., negative PSF). However, this difference was not only associated with improved abiotic conditions in soils from N‐fixing plants but also with changes in soil biota. By contrast, no significant PSF was observed for N‐fixing plants grown in young soils. Moreover, we did not observe any significant PSF for either N‐fixing or non‐N‐fixing plants growing in old, P‐impoverished soils. Synthesis. The direction and strength of plant‐soil feedback (PSF) varied among N‐acquisition strategies and soils differing in nutrient availability, with stronger plant‐soil feedback in younger, N‐poor soils compared to older, P‐impoverished soils. Our results highlight the importance of considering soil nutrient availability, plant‐mediated abiotic and biotic soil properties, and plant nutrient‐acquisition strategies when studying plant‐soil feedback, thereby advancing our mechanistic understanding of plant‐soil feedback during long‐term ecosystem development.

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Symbiotic N2-Fixer Community Composition, but Not Diversity, Shifts in Nodules of a Single Host Legume Across a 2-Million-Year Dune Chronosequence

Cited by 10 publications

References 77 publications

Contrasting patterns of plant and microbial diversity during long‐term ecosystem development

Contrasting patterns of plant and microbial diversity during long‐term ecosystem development

Advances in legume research in the genomics era

Biotic and abiotic plant–soil feedback depends on nitrogen‐acquisition strategy and shifts during long‐term ecosystem development

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