title: How To Live with Phosphorus Scarcity in Soil and Sediment: Lessons from Bacteria.
abstract: Phosphorus (P) plays a fundamental role in the physiology and biochemistry of all living things. Recent evidence indicates that organisms in the oceans can break down and use P forms in different oxidation states (e.g., +5, +3, +1, and -3); however, information is lacking for organisms from soil and sediment. The Cuatro Ciénegas Basin (CCB), Mexico, is an oligotrophic ecosystem with acute P limitation, providing a great opportunity to assess the various strategies that bacteria from soil and sediment use to obtain P. We measured the activities in sediment and soil of different exoenzymes involved in P recycling and evaluated 1,163 bacterial isolates (mainly Bacillus spp.) for their ability to use six different P substrates. DNA turned out to be a preferred substrate, comparable to a more bioavailable P source, potassium phosphate. Phosphodiesterase activity, required for DNA degradation, was observed consistently in the sampled-soil and sediment communities. A capability to use phosphite (PO3 (3-)) and calcium phosphate was observed mainly in sediment isolates. Phosphonates were used at a lower frequency by both soil and sediment isolates, and phosphonatase activity was detected only in soil communities. Our results revealed that soil and sediment bacteria are able to break down and use P forms in different oxidation states and contribute to ecosystem P cycling. Different strategies for P utilization were distributed between and within the different taxonomic lineages analyzed, suggesting a dynamic movement of P utilization traits among bacteria in microbial communities.
  
  
  
  Phosphorus (P) is an essential element for life found in molecules, such as DNA, cell walls, and in molecules for energy transfer, such as ATP. The Valley of Cuatro Ciénegas, Coahuila (Mexico), is a unique desert characterized by an extreme limitation of P and a great diversity of microbial life. How do bacteria in this valley manage to obtain P? We measured the availability of P and the enzymatic activity associated with P release in soil and sediment. Our results revealed that soil and sediment bacteria can break down and use P forms in different oxidation states and contribute to ecosystem P cycling. Even genetically related bacterial isolates exhibited different preferences for molecules, such as DNA, calcium phosphate, phosphite, and phosphonates, as substrates to obtain P, evidencing a distribution of roles for P utilization and suggesting a dynamic movement of P utilization traits among bacteria in microbial communities.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Irapuato, Mexico.
authors.forename: Yunuen
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tapia-Torres
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Irapuato, Mexico.
authors.forename: Maria Dolores
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Rodríguez-Torres
authors.affiliation: School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA.
authors.forename: James J
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-1460-2155
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Elser
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Irapuato, Mexico.
authors.forename: Africa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Islas
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Ecología, Departamento de Ecología Evolutiva, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico.
authors.forename: Valeria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Souza
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Morelia, Mexico.
authors.forename: Felipe
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: García-Oliva
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Irapuato, Mexico golmedo@ira.cinvestav.mx.
authors.forename: Gabriela
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-2122-7506
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Olmedo-Álvarez
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*; D044822:Biodiversity; D017753:Ecosystem; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000032:analysis* / Q000382:microbiology; D010758:Phosphorus / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*; D010802:Phylogeny; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry*; D012988:Soil Microbiology
chemical_list: D012987:Soil; D010758:Phosphorus