Abstract Detail

Bryology and Lichenology

Ranathunge, Chathurani [1], Holland-Moritz, Hannah [2], Stuart, Julia [3], Lewis, Lily R [4], Miller, Samantha [3], Mack, Michelle C. [3], McDaniel, Stuart [5], Fierer, Noah [2].

Moss species harbor diverse communities of bacterial lineages in a rapidly changing Alaskan ecosystem.

Bryophytes are integral to the carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycling in boreal forests and arctic tundra. In these nitrogen-limited ecosystems, microbial communities associated with mosses are the major source of biologically fixed nitrogen. Therefore, C and N dynamics in these ecosystems rely heavily upon the diverse communities of mosses and their associated microbes. However, our understanding of moss microbiome, their structure, and function in these ecosystems remain limited. Specifically, little is known about the influence of moss species identity and the local environment on the assembly and function of these microbial communities. Here we studied the composition and function of bacterial communities associated with seven boreal moss species collected from Fairbanks, Alaska. We analyzed the assemblages of moss-associated bacterial species with 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing and shotgun metagenomic sequencing. The nitrogen fixation rates of these bacterial species were measured with stable-isotope enrichment. We found that the moss species were enriched with diverse, potentially nitrogen fixing bacteria which includes members of previously undescribed lineages. We also found that host species was more important than the local environment, in shaping the bacterial community composition. Further, we found that host phylogeny significantly affects bacterial community composition and nitrogen fixation rates. This study provides important insights into the complex relationship between host species and the structure and function of their microbiomes.

1 - University of Florida, Biology, 876 Newell Dr, Gainesville, FL , 32611, USA
2 - University of Colorado at Boulder, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
3 - Northern Arizona University, Center for Ecosystem Science and Society
4 - University of Florida, Biology, 876 Newell Dr, Gainesville, FL, 32611, United States
5 - Biology Department, University Of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, United States

Keywords:
bryophytes
moss
Microbiome
nitrogen fixation.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: BRY1, Bryology
Location: Tucson G/Starr Pass
Date: Tuesday, July 30th, 2019
Time: 8:30 AM
Number: BRY1001
Abstract ID:834
Candidate for Awards:None