BELongDead - Fungal Functional Diversity - Halle/Zittau/Grafenau II - Structural and functional diversity of fungi and bacteria in deadwood

Goals

Compared to the previous projects FunWood I-II, which was largely concerned with the influence of forest management on microbial diversity in existing decomposing deadwood under field conditions, we are now shifting our focus to an experimental platform. Das BELongDead experiment was initiated in 2008 under the leadership of Prof. Dr. E.D. Schulze (MPI Biogeochemistry Jena) with the aim of investigating the influence of the surrounding habitat on deadwood and its decomposition processes. Another focus is on the long-term observation of the colonisation of the deadwood logs by a wide variety of organisms.

The aim is to investigate to what extent I) the surrounding ecosystem influences deadwood decomposition, II) how deadwood colonisation occurs and III) how microorganisms control deadwood decomposition and thus influence ecosystem processes such as nutrient turnover. BELongDead allows us to study the influence of land use in the form of forest management on a standardised set of deadwood (13 different tree species of the same size and decomposition onset), evenly distributed in 3 replicates in the 3 exploratories and in 3×3 differently managed plots each.

The aim of our project is to combine state-of-the-art molecular biological methods with classical fruiting body mapping and spore collections to I) determine the type and quantity of wood decomposition and different forest management aspects, II) observe and study distribution and succession patterns of fungi over time, III) determine fungal activity at the transcriptome and enzyme levels and correlate these results with process data, IV) determine resulting changes in wood chemistry, V) determine the influence of functionally different bacteria on fungal diversity, and VI) ultimately identify key species in these complex processes.

Hypotheses

Meanwhile, the experiment reaches medium decomposition levels in different tree species. The following central hypotheses were derived:

1. increased forest management intensity reduces the species pool of wood-inhabiting fungi at the landscape and forest stand level.

2. intensive forest management is a habitat filter that favours certain species with certain life strategies (e.g. generalists).

3. forest management relaxes competitive interactions between wood-dwelling fungi, leading to higher wood decomposition rates.

4. wood decomposition processes are highly predictable from fruiting body dating combined with molecular data on phylogenetic and functional diversity.

5. there are very high bacterial diversities and certain bacteria occur non-randomly with certain fungi.

6. white rot fungi are the most relevant fungi in deadwood degradation and primarily use manganese peroxidases to degrade lignin and increase element bioavailability.

Picture: The collage contains three photos on the subject of sampling wood. Photo 1 shows a row of deadwood tree trunks in a summer forest, arranged like the rungs of a ladder on the forest floor. Photo 2 shows a close-up of a mushroom on deadwood. Photo 3 shows a hand on the left of the picture drilling into a deadwood tree trunk with a drill. The drilled-out material is collected in a metal bowl held against the tree trunk by a hand on the right of the picture.

Fig.1 Wood sampling of BELongDead strains for the determination of physicochemical wood properties, enzymatics and for the molecular biological investigation of microbial diversity

Picture: The collage contains three photos. Photo 1 shows a deadwood log lying on the forest floor, overgrown lengthwise with green moss. Photo 2 shows a twig leaning against a deadwood log, overgrown with a bright yellow fungal network. Photo 3 shows a deadwood log with many fungal fruiting bodies of the genus Stockschwämmchen growing along it

Fig.2. mosses and fungal fruiting bodies on the BELongDead stems

Methods

To answer our questions, we use state-of-the-art molecular biology techniques at the DNA and RNA level, including so-called “Next Generation Sequencing” techniques (NGS). Wood chemical parameters and enzymes are also determined using current methods. In addition to intensive fruiting body mapping, spore collectors are installed to identify airflow-based distribution patterns and, on the other hand, to be able to compare which fungi are potentially present (species pool) and which are already established in deadwood.

Publications

How to best detect threatened deadwood fungi – comparing metabarcoding and fruit body surveys

Rieker D., Runnel K., Baldrian P., Brabcová V., Hoppe B., Kellner H., Moll J., Vojtěch T., Bässler C. (2024): How to best detect threatened deadwood fungi – comparing metabarcoding and fruit body surveys. Biological Conservation 296, 110696. doi: 10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110696

Enzymatic machinery of wood-inhabiting fungi that degrade temperate tree species

Enzymatische Maschinerie von Holz bewohnenden Pilzen, die temperate Baumarten abbauen.

Kipping L., Jehmlich N., Moll J., Noll M., Gossner M. M., Van Den Bossche T., Edelmann P., Borken W., Hofrichter M., Kellner H. (2024): Enzymatic machinery of wood-inhabiting fungi that degrade temperate tree species. The ISME Journal 18 (1), wrae050. doi: 10.1093/ismejo/wrae050

Nitrogen addition increases mass loss of gymnosperm but not of angiosperm deadwood without changing microbial communities

Roy F., Ibayev O., Arnstadt T., Bässler C., Borken W., Groß C., Hoppe B., Hossen S., Kahl T., Moll J., Noll M., Purahong W., Schreiber J., Weisser W. W., Hofrichter M., Kellner H. (2023): Nitrogen addition increases mass loss of gymnosperm but not of angiosperm deadwood without changing microbial communities. Science of The Total Environment 900, 165868. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165868

Draft genome sequence of Truncatella angustata (Anamorph) S358

Genomsequenzierung von Truncatella angustata (Anamorph) S358

Kellner H., Friedrich S., Schmidtke K.-U., Ullrich R., Kiebist J., Zänder D., Hofrichter M., Scheibner K. (2022): Draft genome sequence of Truncatella angustata (Anamorph) S358. Microbiology Resource Announcements 11 (7), e00052-22. doi: 10.1128/mra.00052-22

Disentangling the importance of space and host tree for the beta-diversity of beetles, fungi, and bacteria: Lessons from a large dead-wood experiment

Entflechtung der Bedeutung von Raum und Wirtsbaum für die Beta-Diversität von Käfern, Pilzen und Bakterien: Lehren aus einem großen Totholzexperiment

Rieker D., Krah F.-S., Gossner M. M., Uhl B., Ambarli D., Baber K., Buscot F., Hofrichter M., Hoppe B., Kahl T., Kellner H., Moll J., Purahong W., Seibold S., Weisser W. W., Bässler C. (2022): Disentangling the importance of space and host tree for the beta-diversity of beetles, fungi, and bacteria: Lessons from a large dead-wood experiment. Conservation Biology 268, 109521. doi: 10.1016/j.biocon.2022.109521

Peroxide-Mediated Oxygenation of Organic Compounds by Fungal Peroxygenases

Hofrichter M., Kellner H., Herzog R., Karich A., Kiebist J., Scheibner K., Ullrich R. (2022): Peroxide-Mediated Oxygenation of Organic Compounds by Fungal Peroxygenases. Antioxidants 11 (1), 163. doi: 10.3390/antiox11010163

Evaluation of primers for the detection of deadwood-inhabiting archaea via amplicon sequencing

Bewertung von Primern für den Nachweis von totholzbewohnenden Archaeen mittels Amplikonsequenzierung

Moll J., Hoppe B. (2022): Evaluation of primers for the detection of deadwood-inhabiting archaea via amplicon sequencing. PeerJ 10: e14567. doi: 10.7717/peerj.14567

Molekulare Analyse endophytischer Pilzgemeinschaften in Buchen- und Fichtenstämmen und ihre öklogische Bedeutung

Krause L. (2022): Molekulare Analyse endophytischer Pilzgemeinschaften in Buchen- und Fichtenstämmen und ihre öklogische Bedeutung. Bachelor thesis, University Leipzig / UFZ Halle

First evidence that nematode communities in deadwood are related to tree species identity and to co-occurring fungi and prokaryotes

Moll J., Roy F., Bässler C., Heilmann-Clausen J., Hofrichter M., Kellner H., Krabel D., Schmidt J. H., Buscot F., Hoppe B. (2021): First evidence that nematode communities in deadwood are related to tree species identity and to co-occurring fungi and prokaryotes. Microorganisms 9 (7), 1454. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms9071454

Nematode Diversity and Community Composition in Deadwood of 13 Temperate Tree Species

Roy F. (2020): Nematode Diversity and Community Composition in Deadwood of 13 Temperate Tree Species. Master thesis, TU Dresden

Draft genome sequence of the wood-staining ascomycete Chlorociboria aeruginascens DSM 107184

Genomsequenzierung vom holzverfärbenden Askomyzeten Chlorociboria aeruginascens

Büttner E., Liers C., Gebauer A. M., Collemare J., Navarro-Muñoz J. C., Hofrichter M., Kellner H. (2019): Draft genome sequence of the wood-staining ascomycete Chlorociboria aeruginascens DSM 107184. Microbiology Resource Announcements 8 (17), e00249-19. doi: 10.1128/MRA.00249-19.

Draft genome sequence of Xylaria hypoxylon DSM 108379, a ubiquitous fungus on hardwood

Genomsequenzierung von Xylaria hypoxylon, einem weitverbreiteten Askomyzeten an Laubholz

Büttner E., Liers C., Hofrichter M., Gebauer A. M., Kellner H. (2019): Draft genome sequence of Xylaria hypoxylon DSM 108379, a ubiquitous fungus on hardwood. Microbiology Resource Announcements 8:e00845-19. doi: 10.1128/MRA.00845-19.

Bacteria inhabiting deadwood of 13 tree species are heterogeneously distributed between sapwood and heartwood

Moll J., Kellner H., Leonhardt S., Stengel E., Dahl A., Bässler C., Buscot F., Hofrichter M., Hoppe B. (2018): Bacteria inhabiting deadwood of 13 tree species are heterogeneously distributed between sapwood and heartwood. Environmental Microbiology 20 (10), 3744-3756. doi: 10.1111/1462-2920.14376