#Microorganisms & Fungi #2014 – 2017 #Nitrogen cycle #Forest #Land use #Species communities #Soil organisms #Soil sample #Fungi #Sequencing #Interaction #Genetic diversity #Mycorrhiza fungi #Species biodiversity #Archaea #Bacteria #Plant - fungus interaction #Soil microorganisms #Functional diversity #Microbial community

Microorganisms (Core project)

Species diversity and community composition of soil microorganisms in grassland and forest ecosystems along land-use gradients

Core project 8

Picture: The collage contains six photographs of steps in molecular analyses in a laboratory, performed by a scientist. Photo 1 shows a sample standardization device. Photo 2 shows the scientist working on a polymerase chain reaction device. Photo 3 shows the scientist using an electronic pipette to fill a sample into a micro-reaction tube. Photo 4 shows an Illumina MiSeq sequencer. Photo 5 shows the scientist working on a bioinformatics quality control device. Photo 6 shows the scientist at a desk in front of a computer making inputs for assignment.

Background

Microorganisms, especially fungi and bacteria, play an essential role in soil, including as destructors in the decomposition of organic matter and as symbionts for the growth and health of plant partners. In addition to these interactions with plants, soil microorganisms are influenced by environmental changes such as land use and forest management. However, the degree to which individual factors affect microbial diversity and composition is not yet fully understood.

Goals

1. Characterisation of fungi that play a crucial role in the rhizosphere in grasslands and identification of factors that influence their diversity and composition.

2. Examining the relationship between plant traits of grassland species, land-use intensities and the rhizosphere mycobiome.

3. Assessment of the influence of beech ecotypes on the shaping of specific rhizosphere mycobiomes under different management and environmental conditions.

4. Further analysis of land-use intensity and management effects on soil fungal diversity and fungal community composition.

Picture: The photo shows a meadow on which three objects are standing and lying: first, a bucket with small stones in it; second, a yellow bowl containing soil samples with a folding ruler lying on its corner; and third, a clipboard with a form on which a pencil and a knife lie.

Hypotheses

H1: The species diversity and community composition of the active rhizosphere mycobiome in grasslands changes in relation to the functional plant groups and soil parameters.

H2: Differences in rhizosphere-mycobiome composition are related to changes in plant characteristics, land-use intensities and environmental variables.

H3: The interaction between plants and fungi is determined by plant ecotypes.

H4: Land-use and forest management types have an effect on the composition of the fungal community.

Methods

Soil DNA extraction, fungal amplicon library building and next generation sequencing technologies, bioinformatics (MOTHUR & QIIME) and multivariate statistics.

Close collaboration on sample collection and data analysis with exploratory projects:
– ProFIL
– SCALEMIC
– NanoFaun
– Botany
– Soil (Abiotics)
– BELOW
– InDiLaN

Publications

The influence of forest gaps and their subsequent closure on the diversity of soil fungi

Der Einfluss von Waldlücken auf Bodenpilze

Wöltjen J. (2023): The influence of forest gaps and their subsequent closure on the diversity of soil fungi. Master thesis, University Koblenz-Landau

Influence of land use on the temporal dynamics of fungal communities across the German Biodiversity Exploratories (BE)

Einfluss von Landnutzung auf die zeitlichen Dynamiken von Bodenpilze in den Deutschen Biodiversitätexploratorien (BE)

Rivera Cerquera D. F. (2023): Influence of land use on the temporal dynamics of fungal communities across the German Biodiversity Exploratories (BE). Bachelor thesis, University of Leipzig

Unraveling spatiotemporal variability of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in a temperate grassland plot

Goldmann K., Boeddinghaus R. S., Klemmer S., Regan K. M., Heintz-Buschart A., Fischer M., Prati D., Piepho H.-P., Berner D., Marhan S., Kandeler E., Buscot F., Wubet T. (2020): Unraveling spatio‐temporal variability of arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi in a temperate grassland plot. Environmental Microbiology 22 (3), 873-888. doi: 10.1111/1462-2920.14653

Resident and phytometer plants host comparable rhizosphere fungal communities in managed grassland ecosystems

Vergleichbare Pilzgemeinschaften in der Rhizosphäre von ansässigen Pflanzen und Phytometerpflanzen in bewirtschafteten Grünlandökosystemen

Schöps R., Goldmann K., Korell L., Bruelheide H., Wubet T., Buscot F. (2020): Resident and phytometer plants host comparable rhizosphere fungal communities in managed grassland ecosystems. Scientific Reports 10: 919. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-57760-x

Early stage root-associated fungi show a high temporal turnover, but are independent of beech progeny

Goldmann K., Ammerschubert S., Pena R., Polle A., Wu B.-W., Wubet T., Buscot F. (2020): Early stage root-associated fungi show a high temporal turnover, but are independent of beech progeny. Microorganisms 8 (2), 210. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms8020210

Distribution of Medically Relevant Antibiotic Resistance Genes and Mobile Genetic Elements in Soils of Temperate Forests and Grasslands Varying in Land Use

Verbreitung von medizinisch relevanten Antibiotikaresistenzgenen und mobilen genetischen Elementen in Wald- und Grünlandböden

Willms I. M., Yuan J., Penone C., Goldmann K., Vogt J., Wubet T., Schöning I., Schrumpf M., Buscot F., Nacke H. (2020): Distribution of Medically Relevant Antibiotic Resistance Genes and Mobile Genetic Elements in Soils of Temperate Forests and Grasslands Varying in Land Use. Genes 11 (2), 150. doi: 10.3390/genes11020150

Der Einfluss von Borkenkäfern (Curculionidae, Scolytinae) auf das Mykobiom der Gemeinen Fichte (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst., Pinaceae) im Biodiversitäts-Exploratorium Hainich-Dün

Masch D. (2020): Der Einfluss von Borkenkäfern (Curculionidae, Scolytinae) auf das Mykobiom der Gemeinen Fichte (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst., Pinaceae) im Biodiversitäts-Exploratorium Hainich-Dün. Bachelor thesis, FU Berlin

Belowground plant microbiome diversity and community composition in grassland ecosystems along land-use gradients in the German Biodiversity Exploratories

Unterirdische Pflanzenmikrobiomvielfalt und Gemeinschaftszusammensetzung in Grünlandökosystemen entlang von Landnutzungsgradienten in den deutschen Biodiversitäts-Exploratorien

Schöps R. (2020): Belowground plant microbiome diversity and community composition in grassland ecosystems along land-use gradients in the German Biodiversity Exploratories. Dissertation, Leipzig University

Land-use intensity rather than plant functional identity shapes bacterial and fungal rhizosphere communities

Landnutzungsintsität anstatt von funktionellen Pflanzengruppen beeinflussen die bakterielle und pilzliche Rhizosphärengemeinschaft

Schöps R., Goldmann K., Herz K., Lentendu G., Schöning I., Bruelheide H., Wubet T., Buscot F. (2018): Land-use intensity rather than plant functional identity shapes bacterial and fungal rhizosphere communities. Frontiers in Microbiology 9:2711. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2018.02711

Auswirkung von pflanzlichen Nachbarschaftseffekten auf die pilzliche Diversität und Gemeinschaftszusammensetzung in der Rhizosphäre

Lohmaier A. (2018): Auswirkung von pflanzlichen Nachbarschaftseffekten auf die pilzliche Diversität und Gemeinschaftszusammensetzung in der Rhizosphäre. Master thesis, University Halle-Wittenberg

Preservation of nucleic acids by freeze-drying for next generation sequencing analyses of soil microbial communities

Weißbecker C., Buscot F., Wubet T. (2017): Preservation of nucleic acids by freeze-drying for next generation sequencing analyses of soil microbial communities. Journal of Plant Ecology 10 (1), 81-90. doi: 10.1093/jpe/rtw042

The so-called core projects of the BE emerged from the site selection project and the establishment of the exploratories (2006-2008). Since 2008, they have been providing the infrastructure and collecting important basic information on land use, diversity and ecosystem processes (long-term monitoring) for all projects. In addition, they coordinate project-wide activities such as various large-scale experiments.