Metabolic fingerprinting of the Antarctic cyanolichen Leptogium puberulum–associated bacterial community (Western Shore of Admiralty Bay, King George Island, Maritime Antarctica)
Lichens are presently regarded as stable biotopes, small ecosystems providing a safe haven for the development of a diverse and numerous microbiome. In this study, we conducted a functional diversity assessment of the microbial community residing on the surface and within the thalli of Leptogium pub...
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Published in | Microbial ecology Vol. 82; no. 3; pp. 818 - 829 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
New York
Springer US
01.10.2021
Springer Nature B.V |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Lichens are presently regarded as stable biotopes, small ecosystems providing a safe haven for the development of a diverse and numerous microbiome. In this study, we conducted a functional diversity assessment of the microbial community residing on the surface and within the thalli of
Leptogium puberulum
, a eurytopic cyanolichen endemic to Antarctica, employing the widely used Biolog EcoPlates which test the catabolism of 31 carbon compounds in a colorimetric respiration assay. Lichen thalli occupying moraine ridges of differing age within a proglacial chronosequence, as well as those growing in sites of contrasting nutrient concentrations, were procured from the diverse landscape of the western shore of Admiralty Bay in Maritime Antarctica. The
L. puberulum
bacterial community catabolized photobiont- (glucose-containing carbohydrates) and mycobiont-specific carbon compounds (
d
-Mannitol). The bacteria also had the ability to process degradation products of lichen thalli components (
d
-cellobiose and
N
-acetyl-
d
-glucosamine). Lichen thalli growth site characteristics had an impact on metabolic diversity and respiration intensity of the bacterial communities. While high nutrient contents in lichen specimens from “young” proglacial locations and in those from nitrogen enriched sites stimulated bacterial catabolic activity, in old proglacial locations and in nutrient-lacking sites, a metabolic activity restriction was apparent, presumably due to lichen-specific microbial control mechanisms. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 0095-3628 1432-184X |
DOI: | 10.1007/s00248-021-01701-2 |