Peltigera lichens as sources of uncharacterized cultured basidiomycete yeasts.

Lichens represent one of the most successful examples of symbiosis. They are constituted by the association between a dominant fungus (i.e.

Habitat specificity modulates the bacterial biogeographic patterns in the Southern Ocean.

Conceptual biogeographic frameworks have proposed that the relative contribution of environmental and geographical factors on microbial distribution depends on several characteristics of the habitat (e.g. environmental heterogeneity, species diversity, and proportion of specialist/generalist taxa), all of them defining the degree of habitat specificity, but few experimental demonstrations exist.

Draft genome sequences of two biocontrol agents isolated from the maize phyllosphere strain EM-A7 and strain EM-A8.

In the present study, the genomes of EM-A7 and EM-A8 were sequenced and annotated. The Illumina sequencing platform (NovaSeq PE150) was used to sequence the genomic DNA. There were 6 277 054 raw reads for EM-A7, with a Q20 of 97.

Revealing the hidden biodiversity of Antarctic and the Magellanic Sub-Antarctic Ecoregion: A comprehensive study of aquatic invertebrates from the BASE Project.

Background: Antarctica, its outlying archipelagoes and the Magellanic Subantarctic (MSA) ecoregion are amongst the last true wilderness areas remaining on the planet. Therefore, the publication, citation and peer review of their biodiversity data are essential. The new Millennium Institute Biodiversity of Antarctic and Subantarctic Ecosystems (BASE), a Chilean scientific initiative funded by the National Agency of Research and Innovation, contributes 770 new records of aquatic invertebrates as a point of reference for present-day biodiversity research at these latitudes.

High Andean Steppes of Southern Chile Contain Little-Explored Lichen Symbionts.

lichens can colonize extreme habitats, such as high-elevation ecosystems, but their biodiversity is still largely unknown in these environments, especially in the southern hemi- sphere. We assessed the genetic diversity of mycobionts and cyanobionts of 60 lichens collected in three high Andean steppes of southern Chile using LSU, , COR3 and ITS loci for mycobionts, and SSU and loci for cyanobionts. We obtained 240 sequences for the different mycobiont markers and 118 for the cyanobiont markers, including the first report of sequences of through modifying a previously designed primer.

Lichens and Their Substrates Reduce the Influence of Forest Cover Change on Phosphate Solubilizing Bacteria.

Phosphorus (P) is one of the most critical macronutrients in forest ecosystems. More than 70 years ago, some Chilean Patagonian temperate forests suffered wildfires and the subsequent afforestation with foreign tree species such as pines. Since soil P turnover is interlinked with the tree cover, this could influence soil P content and bioavailability.

Diversity of Microbial Functional Genes Should Be Considered During the Interpretation of the qPCR Melting Curves.

Soil microorganisms play an essential role in biogeochemical cycles. One approach to study these microbial communities is quantifying functional genes by quantitative PCR (qPCR), in which a melting curve analysis is usually assessed to confirm that a single PCR product is being quantified. However, the high diversity of functional genes in environmental samples could generate more than one peak in those curves, so the presence of two or multiple peaks does not always indicate nonspecific amplification.

Exploring the Microdiversity Within Marine Bacterial Taxa: Toward an Integrated Biogeography in the Southern Ocean.

Most of the microbial biogeographic patterns in the oceans have been depicted at the whole community level, leaving out finer taxonomic resolution (i.e., microdiversity) that is crucial to conduct intra-population phylogeographic study, as commonly done for macroorganisms.

The multi metal-resistant bacterium CH34 affects growth and metal mobilization in plants exposed to copper.

Copper (Cu) is important for plant growth, but high concentrations can lead to detrimental effects such as primary root length inhibition, vegetative tissue chlorosis, and even plant death. The interaction between plant-soil microbiota and roots can potentially affect metal mobility and availability, and, therefore, overall plant metal concentration. CH34 is a multi metal-resistant bacterial model that alters metal mobility and bioavailability through ion pumping, metal complexation, and reduction processes.

Diversity of microbial communities and genes involved in nitrous oxide emissions in Antarctic soils impacted by marine animals as revealed by metagenomics and 100 metagenome-assembled genomes.

Antarctic soils generally have low temperatures and limited availability of liquid water and nutrients. However, animals can increase the nutrient availability of ice-free areas by transferring nutrients from marine to terrestrial ecosystems, mainly through their excreta. In this study, we employed shotgun metagenomics and population genome binning techniques to study the diversity of microbial communities in Antarctic soils impacted by marine pinnipeds and birds relative to soils with no evident animal presence.

The Bacterial Community of the Foliose Macro-lichen Peltigera frigida Is More than a Mere Extension of the Microbiota of the Subjacent Substrate.

Lichens host highly diverse microbial communities, with bacteria being one of the most explored groups in terms of their diversity and functioning. These bacteria could partly originate from symbiotic propagules developed by many lichens and, perhaps more commonly and depending on environmental conditions, from different sources of the surroundings. Using the narrowly distributed species Peltigera frigida as an object of study, we propose that bacterial communities in these lichens are different from those in their subjacent substrates, even if some taxa might be shared.

Characterization of the Gut Microbiota of the Antarctic Heart Urchin (Spatangoida) .

is an irregular sea urchin species that inhabits shallow waters of South Georgia and South Shetlands Islands. As a deposit-feeder, nutrition relies on the ingestion of the surrounding sediment in which it lives barely burrowed. Despite the low complexity of its feeding habit, it harbors a long and twice-looped digestive tract suggesting that it may host a complex bacterial community.

Seabird and pinniped shape soil bacterial communities of their settlements in Cape Shirreff, Antarctica.

Seabirds and pinnipeds play an important role in biogeochemical cycling by transferring nutrients from aquatic to terrestrial environments. Indeed, soils rich in animal depositions have generally high organic carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus contents. Several studies have assessed bacterial diversity in Antarctic soils influenced by marine animals; however most have been conducted in areas with significant human impact.

Nitrogen-Fixing Bacteria Associated with Cyanolichens and Chlorolichens.

Lichens have been extensively studied and described; however, recent evidence suggests that members of the bacterial community associated with them could contribute new functions to the symbiotic interaction. In this work, we compare the nitrogen-fixing guild associated with bipartite terricolous lichens with different types of photobiont: cyanolichens and chlorolichens. Since cyanobacteria contribute nitrogen to the symbiosis, we propose that chlorolichens have more diverse bacteria with the ability to fix nitrogen compared to cyanolichens.

Carbon Consumption Patterns of Microbial Communities Associated with Lichens from a Chilean Temperate Forest.

Lichens are a symbiotic association between a fungus and a green alga or a cyanobacterium, or both. They can grow in practically any terrestrial environment and play crucial roles in ecosystems, such as assisting in soil formation and degrading soil organic matter. In their thalli, they can host a wide diversity of non-photoautotrophic microorganisms, including bacteria, which play important functions and are considered key components of the lichens.

Substrates of Peltigera Lichens as a Potential Source of Cyanobionts.

Photobiont availability is one of the main factors determining the success of the lichenization process. Although multiple sources of photobionts have been proposed, there is no substantial evidence confirming that the substrates on which lichens grow are one of them. In this work, we obtained cyanobacterial 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequences from the substrates underlying 186 terricolous Peltigera cyanolichens from localities in Southern Chile and maritime Antarctica and compared them with the sequences of the cyanobionts of these lichens, in order to determine if cyanobacteria potentially available for lichenization were present in the substrates.

Intrinsic factors of Peltigera lichens influence the structure of the associated soil bacterial microbiota.

Definition of lichens has evolved from bi(tri)partite associations to multi-species symbioses, where bacteria would play essential roles. Besides, although soil bacterial communities are known to be affected by edaphic factors, when lichens grow upon them these could become less preponderant. We hypothesized that the structure of both the lichen microbiota and the microbiota in the soil underneath lichens is shaped by lichen intrinsic and extrinsic factors.

Fungal communities as an experimental approach to Darwin's naturalization hypothesis.

Darwin's naturalization hypothesis suggests that the success of an invasive species will be lower when colonizing communities are formed by phylogenetically related rather than unrelated species due to increased competition. Although microbial invasions are involved in both natural and anthropogenic processes, factors affecting the success of microbial invaders are unknown. A biological invasion assay was designed using Trichoderma cf.

Phylogenetic Diversity of Peltigera Cyanolichens and Their Photobionts in Southern Chile and Antarctica.

The lichen genus Peltigera has been mainly revised in the Northern Hemisphere, with most species being recorded in Europe and North America. This study assessed the phylogenetic diversity of the mycobionts and cyanobionts of Peltigera cyanolichens collected in Southern Chile and Antarctica, areas in which lichens are extremely diverse but poorly studied. The operational taxonomic units (OTUs) of each symbiont were defined by analyzing the genetic diversity of the LSU and SSU rDNA of the mycobionts and cyanobionts, respectively, and a phylogenetic approach was used to relate these OTUs with sequences previously reported for Peltigera and Nostoc.

Designing a SCAR molecular marker for monitoring Trichoderma cf. harzianum in experimental communities.

Several species of the fungal genus Trichoderma establish biological interactions with various micro- and macro-organisms. Some of these interactions are relevant in ecological terms and in biotechnological applications, such as biocontrol, where Trichoderma could be considered as an invasive species that colonizes a recipient community. The success of this invasion depends on multiple factors, which can be assayed using experimental communities as study models.

Environmental context shapes the bacterial community structure associated to Peltigera cyanolichens growing in Tierra del Fuego, Chile.

The structure of the associated bacterial community of bipartite cyanolichens of the genus Peltigera from three different environmental contexts in the Karukinka Natural Park, Tierra del Fuego, Chile, was assessed. The sampling sites represent different habitat contexts: mature native forest, young native forest and grassland. Recently it has been determined that the bacterial community associated to lichens could be highly structured according to the mycobiont or photobiont identities, to the environmental context and/or to the geographic scale.

Comparison of water availability effect on ammonia-oxidizing bacteria and archaea in microcosms of a Chilean semiarid soil.

Water availability is the main limiting factor in arid soils; however, few studies have examined the effects of drying and rewetting on nitrifiers from these environments. The effect of water availability on the diversity of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and archaea (AOA) from a semiarid soil of the Chilean sclerophyllous matorral was determined by microcosm assays. The addition of water every 14 days to reach 60% of the WHC significantly increased nitrate content in rewetted soil microcosms (p < 0.