Long-term warming effects on the microbiome and nifH gene abundance of a common moss species in sub-Arctic tundra

Ingeborg J Klarenberg, Christoph Keuschnig, Ana J Russi Colmenares, Denis Warshan, Anne D Jungblut, Ingibjörg S Jónsdóttir, Oddur Vilhelmsson

Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Bacterial communities form the basis of biogeochemical processes and determine plant growth and health. Mosses harbour diverse bacterial communities that are involved in nitrogen fixation and carbon cycling. Global climate change is causing changes in aboveground plant biomass and shifting species composition in the Arctic, but little is known about the response of moss microbiomes in these environments. Here, we studied the total and potentially active bacterial communities associated with Racomitrium lanuginosum in response to a 20-yr in situ warming in an Icelandic heathland. We evaluated the effect of warming and warming-induced shrub expansion on the moss bacterial community composition and diversity, and nifH gene abundance. Warming changed both the total and the potentially active bacterial community structure, while litter abundance only affected the total bacterial community structure. The abundance of nifH genes was negatively affected by litter abundance. We also found shifts in the potentially nitrogen-fixing community, with Nostoc decreasing and noncyanobacterial diazotrophs increasing in relative abundance. Our data suggest that the moss microbial community and potentially nitrogen fixing taxa will be sensitive to future warming, partly via changes in litter and shrub abundance.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2044-2056
JournalNew Phytologist
Volume234
Issue number6
Early online date1 Nov 2021
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2021
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

© 2021 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2021 New Phytologist Foundation.

Funding

This work was supported by the MicroArctic Innovative Training Network grant, which is supported by the European Commission's Horizon 2020 Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions program (grant no. 675546). We thank Dr Ólafur S. Andrésson for help and advice on the RNA and DNA extractions. We would also like to thank Quentin J. B. Horta-Lacueva for advice on the statistical analysis. And finally, we are thankful for the comments and suggestions from the two anonymous reviewers and the editor that helped to improve the manuscript. This work was supported by the MicroArctic Innovative Training Network grant, which is supported by the European Commission's Horizon 2020 Marie Sklodowska‐Curie Actions program (grant no. 675546). We thank Dr Ólafur S. Andrésson for help and advice on the RNA and DNA extractions. We would also like to thank Quentin J. B. Horta‐Lacueva for advice on the statistical analysis. And finally, we are thankful for the comments and suggestions from the two anonymous reviewers and the editor that helped to improve the manuscript.

FundersFunder number
European Commission's Horizon 2020
European Commission's Horizon 2020 Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions
Horizon 2020 Framework Programme675546

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