Leafcutter ants enhance microbial drought resilience in tropical forest soil.
Environ Microbiol Rep
; 16(3): e13251, 2024 Jun.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38778789
ABSTRACT
We conducted a research campaign in a neotropical rainforest in Costa Rica throughout the drought phase of an El-Nino Southern Oscillation event to determine microbial community dynamics and soil C fluxes. Our study included nests of the leafcutter ant Atta cephalotes, as soil disturbances made by these ecosystem engineers may influence microbial drought response. Drought decreased the diversity of microbes and the abundance of core microbiome taxa, including Verrucomicrobial bacteria and Sordariomycete fungi. Despite initial responses of decreasing diversity and altered composition, 6 months post-drought the microbiomes were similar to pre-drought conditions, demonstrating the resilience of soil microbial communities to drought events. A. cephalotes nests altered fungal composition in the surrounding soil, and reduced both fungal mortality and growth of Acidobacteria post-drought. Drought increased CH4 consumption in soils due to lower soil moisture, and A. cephalotes nests decrease the variability of CH4 emissions in some soil types. CH4 emissions were tracked by the abundance of methanotrophic bacteria and fungal composition. These results characterize the microbiome of tropical soils across both time and space during drought and provide evidence for the importance of leafcutter ant nests in shaping soil microbiomes and enhancing microbial resilience during climatic perturbations.
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Limite:
Animals
País/Região como assunto:
America central
/
Costa rica
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2024
Tipo de documento:
Article