Living lithic and sublithic bacterial communities in Namibian drylands
- Dryland xeric conditions exert a deterministic effect on microbial communities, forcing life into refuge niches. Deposited rocks can form a lithic niche for microorganisms in desert regions. Mineral weathering is a key process in soil formation and the importance of microbial-driven mineral weathering for nutrient extraction is increasingly accepted. Advances in geobiology provide insight into the interactions between microorganisms and minerals that play an important role in weathering processes. In this study, we present the examination of the microbial diversity in dryland rocks from the Tsauchab River banks in Namibia. We paired culture-independent 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing with culture-dependent (isolation of bacteria) techniques to assess the community structure and diversity patterns. Bacteria isolated from dryland rocks are typical of xeric environments and are described as being involved in rock weathering processes. For the first time, we extracted extra- and intracellular DNA from rocks to enhance our understandingDryland xeric conditions exert a deterministic effect on microbial communities, forcing life into refuge niches. Deposited rocks can form a lithic niche for microorganisms in desert regions. Mineral weathering is a key process in soil formation and the importance of microbial-driven mineral weathering for nutrient extraction is increasingly accepted. Advances in geobiology provide insight into the interactions between microorganisms and minerals that play an important role in weathering processes. In this study, we present the examination of the microbial diversity in dryland rocks from the Tsauchab River banks in Namibia. We paired culture-independent 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing with culture-dependent (isolation of bacteria) techniques to assess the community structure and diversity patterns. Bacteria isolated from dryland rocks are typical of xeric environments and are described as being involved in rock weathering processes. For the first time, we extracted extra- and intracellular DNA from rocks to enhance our understanding of potentially rock-weathering microorganisms. We compared the microbial community structure in different rock types (limestone, quartz-rich sandstone and quartz-rich shale) with adjacent soils below the rocks. Our results indicate differences in the living lithic and sublithic microbial communities.…
Author details: | Steffi GenderjahnORCiDGND, Simon LewinORCiD, Fabian HornORCiD, Anja M. SchleicherORCiDGND, Kai Mangelsdorf, Dirk WagnerORCiDGND |
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DOI: | https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms9020235 |
ISSN: | 2076-2607 |
Pubmed ID: | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33498742 |
Title of parent work (English): | Microorganisms : open access journal |
Publisher: | MDPI |
Place of publishing: | Basel |
Publication type: | Article |
Language: | English |
Date of first publication: | 2021/01/23 |
Publication year: | 2021 |
Release date: | 2024/05/17 |
Tag: | dryland; extracellular DNA; intracellular DNA; lithobiont; rock; weathering |
Volume: | 9 |
Issue: | 2 |
Article number: | 235 |
Number of pages: | 20 |
Funding institution: | German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)Federal Ministry of Education & Research (BMBF) [03G0861B] |
Organizational units: | Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät / Institut für Geowissenschaften |
DDC classification: | 5 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik / 57 Biowissenschaften; Biologie / 570 Biowissenschaften; Biologie |
Peer review: | Referiert |
Publishing method: | Open Access / Gold Open-Access |
DOAJ gelistet | |
License (German): | CC-BY - Namensnennung 4.0 International |