Rates of ecosystem processes such as decomposition are likely to change a result human impacts on the environment. In southern California, climate and nitrogen (N) deposition in particular may alter biological communities processes. These drivers affect directly, through changes abiotic conditions, indirectly plant decomposer communities. To assess indirect effects litter decomposition, we reciprocally transplanted microbial among control treatment plots (either drought or N addition)...

Bacteria and fungi drive decomposition, a fundamental process in the carbon cycle, yet importance of microbial community composition for decomposition remains elusive. Here, we used an 18-month reciprocal transplant experiment along climate gradient Southern California to disentangle effects versus environment on decomposition. Specifically, tested whether response change depends community. We inoculated decomposers from each site onto common, irradiated leaf litter within "microbial cages"...

Abstract Terrestrial ecosystem models assume that microbial communities respond instantaneously, or are immediately resilient, to environmental change. Here we tested this assumption by quantifying the resilience of a leaf litter community changes in precipitation nitrogen availability. By manipulating composition within global change experiment, decoupled legacies abiotic parameters versus itself. After one rainy season, more variation fungal could be explained original inoculum than...

Abstract Drought represents a significant stress to microorganisms and is known reduce microbial activity organic matter decomposition in Mediterranean ecosystems. However, we lack detailed understanding of the drought response decomposers. Here present metatranscriptomic metabolomic data on physiological situ communities plant litter long-term Californian grass shrub We hypothesised that causes greater allocation tolerance relative growth pathways. In litter, from decade-long ambient...

Dietary shifts can have a direct impact on the gut microbiome by preferentially selecting for microbes capable of utilizing various dietary nutrients. The intake fiber has decreased precipitously in last century, while consumption processed foods increased. Fiber, or microbiota-accessible carbohydrates (MACs), persist digestive tract and be metabolized specific bacteria encoding fiber-degrading enzymes. digestion MACs results accumulation short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) other metabolic...

Microbial community responses to environmental change are largely associated with ecological processes; however, the potential for microbes rapidly evolve and adapt remains relatively unexplored in natural environments. To assess how evolutionary processes simultaneously alter genetic diversity of a microbiome, we conducted two concurrent experiments leaf litter layer soil over 18 mo across climate gradient Southern California. In first experiment, reciprocally transplanted microbial...

In many ecosystems, global changes are likely to profoundly affect microorganisms. Southern California, in precipitation and nitrogen deposition may influence the composition functional potential of microbial communities their resulting ability degrade plant material. To test whether environmental impact distribution groups involved leaf litter degradation, we determined how genomic diversity a semi-arid grassland ecosystem changed under reduced or increased N deposition. We monitored...

Microbes and their metabolic products influence early-life immune microbiome development, yet remain understudied during pregnancy. Vaginal microbial communities are typically dominated by one or a few well-adapted microbes which able to survive in narrow pH range adapted live on host-derived carbon sources, likely sourced from glycogen mucin present the vaginal environment. We characterized cervicovaginal microbiomes of 16 healthy women throughout three trimesters Additionally, we analyzed...

Wildlife may facilitate the spread of antibiotic resistance (AR) between human-dominated habitats and surrounding environment. Here, we use functional metagenomics to survey diversity genomic context AR genes in gulls. Using this approach, found a variety not previously detected gulls wildlife, including class A C β-lactamases as well six tetracycline gene types. An analysis flanking sequences indicates that most these are present Enterobacteriaceae various Gram-positive bacteria. In...

Recent advances in sequencing technologies generate new predictions and hypotheses about the functional roles of environmental microorganisms. Yet, until we can test these at a scale that matches our ability to them, most them will remain as hypotheses. Function-based mining metagenomic libraries provide direct linkages between genes, metabolic traits microbial taxa thus bridge this gap sequence data generation predictions. Here developed high-throughput screening assays for function-based...

Bacteriophages are highly abundant in human microbiota where they coevolve with resident bacteria. Phage predation can drive the evolution of bacterial resistance, which then reciprocal phage to overcome that resistance. Such coevolutionary dynamics have not been extensively studied gut bacteria, and particular interest for both understanding eventually manipulating microbiome. We performed experimental an Enterococcus faecium isolate from healthy stool absence presence a single infecting...

Bacterial abundance is a fundamental metric for understanding the population dynamics of soil bacteria and their role in biogeochemical cycles. Despite its importance, methodological constraints hamper our ability to assess bacterial terrestrial environments. Here, we aimed optimize use flow cytometry (FCM) assay abundances while providing rigorous quantification limitations. Soil samples were spiked with Escherichia coli evaluate levels recovery efficiency among three extraction approaches....

Global changes such as increased drought and atmospheric nitrogen deposition perturb both the microbial plant communities that mediate terrestrial ecosystem functioning. However, few studies consider how responses to global may be influenced by interactions with communities. To begin address role of microbial–plant interactions, we tested hypothesis response change depends on community. We characterized bacterial fungal from 395 litter samples taken Loma Ridge Change Experiment, a...

Desiccation impacts a suite of physiological processes in microbes by elevating levels damaging reactive oxygen species and inducing DNA strand breaks. In response to desiccation-induced stress, have evolved specialized mechanisms help them survive. Here, we performed 128-day lab desiccation experiment on nine strains from three clades an abundant soil bacterium, Curtobacterium. We sequenced RNA each strain at time points investigate their response. Curtobacterium was highly resistant...

Identifying the mechanisms underlying microbial community succession is necessary for predicting how communities, and their functioning, will respond to future environmental change. Dispersal one mechanism expected affect succession, yet difficult nature of manipulating microorganisms in environment has limited our understanding its contribution. Using a dispersal exclusion experiment, this study isolates specific effect on bacterial fungal assembly over time following wildfire. The work...

Global change experiments often observe shifts in bacterial community composition based on 16S rRNA gene sequences. However, this genetic region can mask a large amount of and phenotypic variation among strains sharing even identical regions. As such, it remains largely unknown whether at the sub-16S level, sometimes termed microdiversity, responds to environmental perturbations such changes are relevant ecosystem processes. Here, we investigated microdiversity within Curtobacterium,...

AME Aquatic Microbial Ecology Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout JournalEditorsSpecials 69:17-31 (2013) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/ame01613 Diversity and temporal dynamics of Southern California coastal marine cyanophage isolates Jessica L. Clasen1,3,**, China A. Hanson1,4,*,**, Yazeed Ibrahim1, Claudia Weihe1, Marcia F. Marston2, Jennifer B. H. Martiny1 1Department Evolutionary Biology, University...

Successful reintroduction of native species through ecological restoration requires understanding the complex process seed germination. Soil microbes play an important role in promoting establishment and are often added to sites during sowing. We tested soil- lab-grown bacterial inoculants on germination timing percent for 19 plants commonly found coastal California. Each exhibited a different response inoculant treatments, but overall time-to-germination was longer lower with soil compared...

Although aboveground metrics remain the standard, restoring functional ecosystems should promote both and belowground biotic communities. Restoration using salvaged soil—removal translocation of topsoil from areas planned for development, with subsequent deposition at degraded sites—is an alternative to traditional methods. Salvaged soil contains seed spore banks, which may holistically augment restoration. methods reduce non-native germination by burying seeds, increase native diversity...

Abstract Drought represents a significant stress to soil microorganisms and is known reduce microbial activity organic matter decomposition in Mediterranean ecosystems. However, we still lack detailed understanding of the drought adaptations decomposers. We hypothesised that causes greater allocation tolerance relative growth pathways. Here present metatranscriptomic metabolomic data on physiological response situ communities plant leaf litter long-term pulse wetting Californian grass shrub...