720de799-c160-4371-9ebc-ed551209815f
Bromeliad microbiome along an elevation gradient
Tank bromeliads are unique canopy microhabitats that offer freshwater and organic nutrient-rich substrates in the Neotropics. In them it is possible to thoroughly characterize environmental factors, and species composition of terrestrial and aquatic biota. Therefore, these plants have been used as natural models to study how communities are distributed and assembled. Here we used amplicon sequencing of the16S rRNA gene and their functional annotations to study the diversity and metabolic potential of microbial communities in tank bromeliads in five different forests along an elevation gradient in tropical Mexico. Furthermore, we analyzed the effects of vegetation type and environmental factors on microbial composition. We found a high microbial diversity in these plants along the elevation gradient. Microbes commonly observed in acidic environments rich in organic carbon, and the pathogen Pasteurella multocida, were present in all samples, but few amplicon sequence variants were shared between forests. The microbial composition was affected by forest type, and comparisons against null models suggest that it was shaped by non-neutral processes. Furthermore, microbial community changes significantly covaried with tank water temperature, pH, and inorganic carbon. We found a high diversity of metabolic groups, dominated by microorganisms involved in the biological cycling of organic carbon, including chemoheterotrophs and fermenters. Microbes involved in nitrogen and sulfur cycling were also present in all samples. These results suggest that tank bromeliads promote taxonomic and metabolic diversity of the microbial community at a local and regional scale and play an important role in the biogeochemistry of forest canopies in the Neotropics.
Tank bromeliads are unique canopy microhabitats that offer freshwater and organic nutrient-rich substrates in the Neotropics. In them it is possible to thoroughly characterize environmental factors, and species composition of terrestrial and aquatic biota. Therefore, these plants have been used as natural models to study how communities are distributed and assembled. Here we used amplicon sequencing of the16S rRNA gene and their functional annotations to study the diversity and metabolic potential of microbial communities in tank bromeliads in five different forests along an elevation gradient in tropical Mexico. Furthermore, we analyzed the effects of vegetation type and environmental factors on microbial composition. We found a high microbial diversity in these plants along the elevation gradient. Microbes commonly observed in acidic environments rich in organic carbon, and the pathogen Pasteurella multocida, were present in all samples, but few amplicon sequence variants were shared between forests. The microbial composition was affected by forest type, and comparisons against null models suggest that it was shaped by non-neutral processes. Furthermore, microbial community changes significantly covaried with tank water temperature, pH, and inorganic carbon. We found a high diversity of metabolic groups, dominated by microorganisms involved in the biological cycling of organic carbon, including chemoheterotrophs and fermenters. Microbes involved in nitrogen and sulfur cycling were also present in all samples. These results suggest that tank bromeliads promote taxonomic and metabolic diversity of the microbial community at a local and regional scale and play an important role in the biogeochemistry of forest canopies in the Neotropics.