Biology subjects

Cano-Diaz, C.

Publications and source records attributed to Cano-Diaz, C..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2021

Vegetation structure determines cyanobacterial communities during soil development across global biomes

O_LISoil cyanobacteria play essential ecological roles and are known to experience large changes in their diversity and abundance throughout early succession. However, much less is known about how and why soil cyanobacterial communities change as soil develops from centuries to millennia, and the effects of aboveground vegetation on these communities. C_LIO_LIWe combined an extensive field survey including 16 global soil chronosequences across contrasting ecosystems (from deserts to tropical forests) with molecular analyses to investigate how the diversity and abundance of soil cyanobacteria under vegetation change during soil development from hundreds to thousands of years. C_LIO_LIWe show that, in most chronosequences, the abundance, species richness and community composition of soil cyanobacteria were relatively stable as soil develops (from centuries to millennia). Regardless of soil age, forest chronosequences were consistently dominated by non-photosynthetic cyanobacteria (Vampirovibrionia), while grasslands and shrublands were dominated by photosynthetic cyanobacteria. Chronosequences undergoing drastic vegetation shifts during soil development (e.g. transitions from grasslands to forests) experienced significant changes in the composition of soil cyanobacteria communities. C_LIO_LIOur results advance our understanding of the ecology of cyanobacterial classes, specially the understudied non-photosynthetic ones and highlight the key role of vegetation as a major driver of their temporal dynamics as soil develops. C_LI

ecology↗

bioRxiv2019

Ecological niche differentiation in soil cyanobacterial communities across the globe

Cyanobacteria are key organisms in the evolution of life on Earth, but their distribution and environmental preferences in terrestrial ecosystems remain poorly understood. This lack of knowledge is particularly evident for two recently discovered non-photosynthetic cyanobacterial classes, Melainabacteria and Sericytochromatia, limiting our capacity to predict how these organisms and the important ecosystem functions they perform will respond to ongoing global change. Here, we conducted a global field survey covering a wide range of vegetation types and climatic conditions to identify the environmental factors associated with the distribution of soil cyanobacterial communities. Network analyses revealed three major clusters of cyanobacterial phylotypes, each one dominated by members of one of the extant classes of Cyanobacteria (Oxyphotobacteria, Melainabacteria and Sericytochromatia), suggesting that species within these taxonomic groups share similar environmental preferences. Melainabacteria appear mostly in acidic and humid ecosystems, especially forests, Oxyphotobacteria are prevalent in arid and semiarid areas, and Sericytochromatia are common in hyperarid oligotrophic environments. We used this information to construct a global atlas of soil cyanobacteria. Our results provide novel insights into the ecology and biogeography of soil cyanobacteria and highlight how their global distribution could change in response to increased aridity, a landmark feature of climate change in terrestrial ecosystems worldwide. Significance statementCyanobacteria have shaped the history of life on Earth and can be important photosynthesizers and nitrogen fixers in terrestrial ecosystems worldwide. The recent discovery of two non-photosynthetic classes has advanced our understanding of their evolution, but their distribution and environmental preferences remain poorly described. Using a global survey conducted across 237 locations on six continents, we identified three main groups of soil cyanobacteria with contrasting environmental preferences: acidic and humid ecosystems, arid and semiarid areas, and hyperarid oligotrophic ecosystems. We then constructed the first global atlas of soil cyanobacteria, an important advance in our understanding of the ecology and biogeography of these functionally important organisms.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2017

Diversity Of Biocrust-Forming Cyanobacteria In A Semiarid Gypsiferous Site From Central Spain

Cyanobacteria are an important constituent of biocrusts, communities dominated by lichens, mosses and associated microorganisms, which are prevalent in drylands worldwide and that largely determine their functioning. Despite their importance, there are large gaps in our knowledge of cyanobacteria associated to biocrusts, particularly in areas such as the Mediterranean Basin. We studied the diversity of these cyanobacteria in a gypsiferous grassland from Central Spain using both morphological identification after cultivation and genetic analyses with the 16S rRNA gene. Eight different morphotypes were observed, most of them corresponding to filamentous and one of them to unicellular cyanobacteria. We found cyanobacterial genera typical of biocrust communities, such as Microcoleus, Schizothrix or Tolypothrix, and N-fixing cyanobacteria as Scytonema or Nostoc. Genetic information allowed us to identify cultures belonging to recently described genera such as Roholtiella, Nodosilinea and Mojavia. In this study we describe two new phylotypes of Microcoleus and Scytonema, which are key genera contributing to ecosystem functioning in biocrust-dominated ecosystems worldwide.

microbiology↗