Project description:DNA samples of G. fascicularis were used to investigate the GeoChip 5.0 based functional gene arrays, which contains 57,000 probes and covered over 144,000 gene sequences from 393 functional gene families associated with a variety of microbial functional traits, such as carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur cycling, pathogenicity and secondary metabolism.
Project description:Phosphorus is a critical nutrient controlling phytoplankton growth. Availability of this limiting factor can vary significantly in space and time, particularly in dynamic aquatic ecosystems. Diatoms are important eukaryotic phytoplankton that thrive in regions of pulsed phosphate supply, yet little is known of the sensory mechanisms enabling them to detect and rapidly respond to phosphorus availability. Here we show that phosphorus-starved diatoms utilise a novel Ca2+-dependent signalling pathway to sense and regulate cellular recovery following phosphorus resupply. This pathway, which has not previously been described in eukaryotes, is sensitive to sub-micromolar concentrations of phosphate, alongside a range of environmentally relevant phosphorus forms. Using comparative proteomics, we have characterised early adaptations governing diatom cellular recovery from phosphorus limitation. Strikingly, the dominant response was substantial enhancement of nitrogen assimilation proteins. This led to 12-fold increases in absolute nitrate uptake rates, relative to phosphorus-starved cells. Moreover, we find that the novel phosphorus-Ca2+ signalling pathway controls this primary recovery response. Our findings highlight that fundamental cross-talk between the essential nutrients phosphorus and nitrogen drive diatom recovery from phosphorus limitation. Moreover, a novel Ca2+-dependent phosphorus signalling pathway governs such ecological acclimation responses, and is thus likely critical to the success of diatoms in regions of episodic nutrient supply.
Project description:Native pollinators are important for providing vital services in agroecosystems; however, their numbers are declining globally. Bees are the most efficient and diverse members of the pollinator community; therefore, it is imperative that management strategies be implemented that positively affect bee community composition and health. Here, we test responses of the bee and flowering plant communities to land management treatments in the context of grasslands in the upper Midwestern United States, a critical area with respect to bee declines. Twelve sites were selected to examine floral resources and wild bee communities based on three different types of grasslands: tallgrass prairie remnants, ungrazed restorations, and grazed restorations. Total bee abundance was significantly higher in ungrazed restorations than remnants, but there were no significant differences among grasslands in community composition or Shannon diversity. Across the three grassland types we also examined mass and lipid stores as nutritional health indicators in three sweat bees (Halictidae), Augochlora pura, Agapostemon virescens, and Halictus ligatus. Although there were no differences in lipid content, total average bee mass was significantly higher in Ag. virescens collected from ungrazed restorations as compared to remnants. Floral abundance of native and non-native species combined was significantly higher in grazed restorations compared to remnants and ungrazed restorations. However, ungrazed restorations had higher abundance and richness of native flowering ramets. These data suggest that bee abundance and nutrition are driven by high abundance of native flowering plant species, rather than total flowering plants.
Project description:Demand for bioenergy is increasing, but the ecological consequences of bioenergy crop production on working lands remain unresolved. Corn is currently a dominant bioenergy crop, but perennial grasslands could produce renewable bioenergy resources and enhance biodiversity. Grassland bird populations have declined in recent decades and may particularly benefit from perennial grasslands grown for bioenergy. We asked how breeding bird community assemblages, vegetation characteristics, and biomass yields varied among three types of potential bioenergy grassland fields (grass monocultures, grass-dominated fields, and forb-dominated fields), and assessed tradeoffs between grassland biomass production and bird habitat. We also compared the bird communities in grassland fields to nearby cornfields. Cornfields had few birds compared to perennial grassland fields. Ten bird Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN) were observed in perennial grassland fields. Bird species richness and total bird density increased with forb cover and were greater in forb-dominated fields than grass monocultures. SGCN density declined with increasing vertical vegetation density, indicating that tall, dense grassland fields managed for maximum biomass yield would be of lesser value to imperiled grassland bird species. The proportion of grassland habitat within 1 km of study sites was positively associated with bird species richness and the density of total birds and SGCNs, suggesting that grassland bioenergy fields may be more beneficial for grassland birds if they are established near other grassland parcels. Predicted total bird density peaked below maximum biomass yields and predicted SGCN density was negatively related to biomass yields. Our results indicate that perennial grassland fields could produce bioenergy feedstocks while providing bird habitat. Bioenergy grasslands promote agricultural multifunctionality and conservation of biodiversity in working landscapes.
Project description:We measured transcriptional profiles of individuals of Andropogon gerardii, a C4 grass native to North American grasslands, in a field experiment in which both temperature and precipitation have been manipulated to simulate key aspects of forecasted climate change. By using microarrays developed for a closely related model species, Zea mays, we were able to compare the relative influence of warming versus altered soil moisture availability on expression levels of over 7,000 genes. The plants were located in 12 experimental plots under rainout shelters on the Konza Prairie Biological Station in Manhattan, Kansas.
Project description:Plants cope with low phosphorus availability by adjusting growth and metabolism through transcriptomic adaptations. We hypothesize that selected genotypes with distinct P use efficiency covering the breeding history of European heterotic pool allow us to reveal general and genotype-specific molecular responses correlated with low phosphate induced traits.