TY - GEN A1 - Gubelit, Yulia I. A1 - Grossart, Hans-Peter T1 - New Methods, New Concepts BT - What Can Be Applied to Freshwater Periphyton? T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - Microbial interactions play an essential role in aquatic ecosystems and are of the great interest for both marine and freshwater ecologists. Recent development of new technologies and methods allowed to reveal many functional mechanisms and create new concepts. Yet, many fundamental aspects of microbial interactions have been almost exclusively studied for marine pelagic and benthic ecosystems. These studies resulted in a formulation of the Black Queen Hypothesis, a development of the phycosphere concept for pelagic communities, and a realization of microbial communication as a key mechanism for microbial interactions. In freshwater ecosystems, especially for periphyton communities, studies focus mainly on physiology, biodiversity, biological indication, and assessment, but the many aspects of microbial interactions are neglected to a large extent. Since periphyton plays a great role for aquatic nutrient cycling, provides the basis for water purification, and can be regarded as a hotspot of microbial biodiversity, we highlight that more in-depth studies on microbial interactions in periphyton are needed to improve our understanding on functioning of freshwater ecosystems. In this paper we first present an overview on recent concepts (e.g., the “Black Queen Hypothesis”) derived from state-of-the-art OMICS methods including metagenomics, metatranscriptomics, and metabolomics. We then point to the avenues how these methods can be applied for future studies on biodiversity and the ecological role of freshwater periphyton, a yet largely neglected component of many freshwater ecosystems. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 969 KW - freshwater KW - lake periphyton KW - microbial interactions KW - Black Queen Hypothesis KW - OMICs tools Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-474286 SN - 1866-8372 IS - 969 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Gubelit, Yulia I. A1 - Grossart, Hans-Peter T1 - New Methods, New Concepts BT - What Can Be Applied to Freshwater Periphyton? JF - Frontiers in Microbiology N2 - Microbial interactions play an essential role in aquatic ecosystems and are of the great interest for both marine and freshwater ecologists. Recent development of new technologies and methods allowed to reveal many functional mechanisms and create new concepts. Yet, many fundamental aspects of microbial interactions have been almost exclusively studied for marine pelagic and benthic ecosystems. These studies resulted in a formulation of the Black Queen Hypothesis, a development of the phycosphere concept for pelagic communities, and a realization of microbial communication as a key mechanism for microbial interactions. In freshwater ecosystems, especially for periphyton communities, studies focus mainly on physiology, biodiversity, biological indication, and assessment, but the many aspects of microbial interactions are neglected to a large extent. Since periphyton plays a great role for aquatic nutrient cycling, provides the basis for water purification, and can be regarded as a hotspot of microbial biodiversity, we highlight that more in-depth studies on microbial interactions in periphyton are needed to improve our understanding on functioning of freshwater ecosystems. In this paper we first present an overview on recent concepts (e.g., the “Black Queen Hypothesis”) derived from state-of-the-art OMICS methods including metagenomics, metatranscriptomics, and metabolomics. We then point to the avenues how these methods can be applied for future studies on biodiversity and the ecological role of freshwater periphyton, a yet largely neglected component of many freshwater ecosystems. KW - freshwater KW - lake periphyton KW - microbial interactions KW - Black Queen Hypothesis KW - OMICs tools Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2020.01275 SN - 1664-302X VL - 11 PB - Frontiers Media CY - Lausanne ER - TY - GEN A1 - Fabian, Jenny A1 - Zlatanović, Sanja A1 - Mutz, Michael A1 - Grossart, Hans-Peter A1 - Geldern, Robert van A1 - Ulrich, Andreas A1 - Gleixner, Gerd A1 - Premke, Katrin T1 - Environmental control on microbial turnover of leaf carbon in streams BT - ecological function of phototrophic-heterotrophic interactions T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - In aquatic ecosystems, light availability can significantly influence microbial turnover of terrestrial organic matter through associated metabolic interactions between phototrophic and heterotrophic communities. However, particularly in streams, microbial functions vary significantly with the structure of the streambed, that is the distribution and spatial arrangement of sediment grains in the streambed. It is therefore essential to elucidate how environmental factors synergistically define the microbial turnover of terrestrial organic matter in order to better understand the ecological role of photo-heterotrophic interactions in stream ecosystem processes. In outdoor experimental streams, we examined how the structure of streambeds modifies the influence of light availability on microbial turnover of leaf carbon (C). Furthermore, we investigated whether the studied relationships of microbial leaf C turnover to environmental conditions are affected by flow intermittency commonly occurring in streams. We applied leaves enriched with a 13C-stable isotope tracer and combined quantitative and isotope analyses. We thereby elucidated whether treatment induced changes in C turnover were associated with altered use of leaf C within the microbial food web. Moreover, isotope analyses were combined with measurements of microbial community composition to determine whether changes in community function were associated with a change in community composition. In this study, we present evidence, that environmental factors interactively determine how phototrophs and heterotrophs contribute to leaf C turnover. Light availability promoted the utilization of leaf C within the microbial food web, which was likely associated with a promoted availability of highly bioavailable metabolites of phototrophic origin. However, our results additionally confirm that the structure of the streambed modifies light-related changes in microbial C turnover. From our observations, we conclude that the streambed structure influences the strength of photo-heterotrophic interactions by defining the spatial availability of algal metabolites in the streambed and the composition of microbial communities. Collectively, our multifactorial approach provides valuable insights into environmental controls on the functioning of stream ecosystems. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 693 KW - algae KW - bacteria KW - microbial interactions KW - 13C stable isotopes KW - PLFA KW - terrestrial carbon KW - streambed structure KW - light Y1 - 2019 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-426336 SN - 1866-8372 IS - 693 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fabian, Jenny A1 - Zlatanovic, Sanja A1 - Mutz, Michael A1 - Grossart, Hans-Peter A1 - van Geldern, Robert A1 - Ulrich, Andreas A1 - Gleixner, Gerd A1 - Premke, Katrin T1 - Environmental control on microbial turnover of leaf carbon in streams BT - Ecological function of phototrophic-heterotrophic interactions JF - Frontiers in microbiology N2 - In aquatic ecosystems, light availability can significantly influence microbial turnover of terrestrial organic matter through associated metabolic interactions between phototrophic and heterotrophic communities. However, particularly in streams, microbial functions vary significantly with the structure of the streambed, that is the distribution and spatial arrangement of sediment grains in the streambed. It is therefore essential to elucidate how environmental factors synergistically define the microbial turnover of terrestrial organic matter in order to better understand the ecological role of photoheterotrophic interactions in stream ecosystem processes. In outdoor experimental streams, we examined how the structure of streambeds modifies the influence of light availability on microbial turnover of leaf carbon (C). Furthermore, we investigated whether the studied relationships of microbial leaf C turnover to environmental conditions are affected by flow intermittency commonly occurring in streams. We applied leaves enriched with a C-13-stable isotope tracer and combined quantitative and isotope analyses. We thereby elucidated whether treatment induced changes in C turnover were associated with altered use of leaf C within the microbial food web. Moreover, isotope analyses were combined with measurements of microbial community composition to determine whether changes in community function were associated with a change in community composition. In this study, we present evidence, that environmental factors interactively determine how phototrophs and heterotrophs contribute to leaf C turnover. Light availability promoted the utilization of leaf C within the microbial food web, which was likely associated with a promoted availability of highly bioavailable metabolites of phototrophic origin. However, our results additionally confirm that the structure of the streambed modifies light-related changes in microbial C turnover. From our observations, we conclude that the streambed structure influences the strength of photo-heterotrophic interactions by defining the spatial availability of algal metabolites in the streambed and the composition of microbial communities. Collectively, our multifactorial approach provides valuable insights into environmental controls on the functioning of stream ecosystems. KW - algae KW - bacteria KW - microbial interactions KW - C-13 stable isotopes KW - PLFA KW - terrestrial carbon KW - streambed structure KW - light Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2018.01044 SN - 1664-302X VL - 9 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - THES A1 - Fabian, Jenny T1 - Effects of algae on microbial carbon cycling in freshwaters BT - with focus on the utilization of leaf carbon by heterotrophic bacteria and fungi N2 - Microbial processing of organic matter (OM) in the freshwater biosphere is a key component of global biogeochemical cycles. Freshwaters receive and process valuable amounts of leaf OM from their terrestrial landscape. These terrestrial subsidies provide an essential source of energy and nutrients to the aquatic environment as a function of heterotrophic processing by fungi and bacteria. Particularly in freshwaters with low in-situ primary production from algae (microalgae, cyanobacteria), microbial turnover of leaf OM significantly contributes to the productivity and functioning of freshwater ecosystems and not least their contribution to global carbon cycling. Based on differences in their chemical composition, it is believed that leaf OM is less bioavailable to microbial heterotrophs than OM photosynthetically produced by algae. Especially particulate leaf OM, consisting predominantly of structurally complex and aromatic polymers, is assumed highly resistant to enzymatic breakdown by microbial heterotrophs. However, recent research has demonstrated that OM produced by algae promotes the heterotrophic breakdown of leaf OM in aquatic ecosystems, with profound consequences for the metabolism of leaf carbon (C) within microbial food webs. In my thesis, I aimed at investigating the underlying mechanisms of this so called priming effect of algal OM on the use of leaf C in natural microbial communities, focusing on fungi and bacteria. The works of my thesis underline that algal OM provides highly bioavailable compounds to the microbial community that are quickly assimilated by bacteria (Paper II). The substrate composition of OM pools determines the proportion of fungi and bacteria within the microbial community (Paper I). Thereby, the fraction of algae OM in the aquatic OM pool stimulates the activity and hence contribution of bacterial communities to leaf C turnover by providing an essential energy and nutrient source for the assimilation of the structural complex leaf OM substrate. On the contrary, the assimilation of algal OM remains limited for fungal communities as a function of nutrient competition between fungi and bacteria (Paper I, II). In addition, results provide evidence that environmental conditions determine the strength of interactions between microalgae and heterotrophic bacteria during leaf OM decomposition (Paper I, III). However, the stimulatory effect of algal photoautotrophic activities on leaf C turnover remained significant even under highly dynamic environmental conditions, highlighting their functional role for ecosystem processes (Paper III). The results of my thesis provide insights into the mechanisms by which algae affect the microbial turnover of leaf C in freshwaters. This in turn contributes to a better understanding of the function of algae in freshwater biogeochemical cycles, especially with regard to their interaction with the heterotrophic community. N2 - Die mikrobielle Verarbeitung von organischer Biomasse in Süßwasser nimmt eine fundamentale Rolle in den globalen biogeochemischen Nährstoffkreisläufen ein. Ein Großteil der organischen Biomasse gelangt aus der terrestrischen Umgebung, insbesondere aus dem Blattlaubeintrag, in die Gewässer und stellt eine wesentliche Energie- und Nährstoffquelle für die aquatische Umwelt dar. In die aquatischen Nahrungsnetze gelangt das terrestrische Material vorwiegend durch mikrobielle Umsatzprozesse, an denen vor allem heterotrophe Bakterien und Pilze beteiligt sind. Der mikrobielle Umsatz von Blattlaub kann die biogeochemischen Prozesse aquatischer Ökosysteme signifikant beeinflussen und nicht zuletzt deren Beitrag zum globalen Kohlenstoffkreislauf. Das gilt insbesondere für Gewässer, in denen die in-situ Produktion organischer Biomasse durch aquatische Algen sehr gering ist. Aufgrund ihrer unterschiedlichen chemischen Zusammensetzung wird angenommen, dass Blattbiomasse für die mikrobielle Gemeinschaft schlechter abbaubar und damit weniger bioverfügbar ist als photosynthetisch produziert Biomasse durch Algen. Das gilt insbesondere für das partikuläre Blattmaterial, welches vorwiegend aus strukturell komplexen und aromatischen Polymeren besteht. Neue Forschungsergebnisse haben jedoch gezeigt, dass Algen den enzymatischen Abbau von Blattmaterial stimulieren (Priming Effekt), und den Umsatz von Blattkohlenstoff innerhalb des mikrobiellen Nahrungsnetzes signifikant beeinflussen. In meiner Doktorarbeit habe ich die zugrundeliegenden Mechanismen dieses Priming Effekts von Algenbiomasse auf die mikrobiellen Umsatzprozesse von Blattkohlenstoff innerhalb natürlicher mikrobieller Gemeinschaften untersucht. Der Fokus lag dabei vor allem auf aquatische Pilz- und Bakteriengemeinschaften. Die von mir erbrachten Arbeiten verifizieren, dass Algenbiomasse für die mikrobielle Gemeinschaft teilweise hoch verfügbar ist (Studie II). Meine Arbeiten unterstreichen jedoch, dass Algenbiomasse vor allem von Bakterien assimiliert wird und deren Beitrag zum mikrobiellen Blattumsatz stimuliert. Die Bakteriengemeinschaft erhält über das Algenmaterial vermutlich essentielle Energie- und Nährstoffquellen, die ihnen die Assimilation des strukturell komplexen Blattkohlenstoffs erleichtert. Im Gegensatz dazu scheint die Pilzgemeinschaft das Algenmaterial nicht direkt nutzen zu können, vermutlich bedingt durch deren schwache Konkurrenz mit Bakterien um das Algensubstrat (Studie I, II). Darüber hinaus liefern die Ergebnisse einer weiteren Studie Hinweise darauf, dass Umweltbedingungen die Stärke der Wechselwirkungen zwischen Algen und heterotrophen Bakterien während der Zersetzung der Blattbiomasse bestimmen (Studie I, III). Die stimulierende Wirkung der photoautotrophen Algenaktivität auf den Blattkohlenstoff Umsatz blieb jedoch selbst unter hochdynamischen Umweltbedingungen signifikant, was ihre funktionelle Rolle für Ökosystemprozesse unterstreicht (Studie III). Die Ergebnisse aus den Arbeiten meiner Promotion geben Einblicke in die Mechanismen des mikrobiellen aquatischen Blattabbaus und welche funktionelle Rolle Algen hierbei haben. Das trägt zu einem besseren Verständnis der Funktion von Algen in den biogeochemischen Kreisläufen der Süßgewässer bei, insbesondere mit Hinblick auf die Interaktion der heterotrophen Gemeinschaft mit Algenbiomasse. KW - stable isotope tracer KW - organic matter KW - microbial carbon turnover KW - microbial interactions KW - stabile Isotope Tracer KW - organisches Material KW - mikrobieller Kohlenstoffkreislauf KW - mikrobielle Interaktionen Y1 - 2018 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-422225 ER -