Hunters or farmers? Microbiome characteristics help elucidate the diet composition in an aquatic carnivorous plant.
Microbiome
; 6(1): 225, 2018 12 17.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-30558682
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Utricularia are rootless aquatic carnivorous plants which have recently attracted the attention of researchers due to the peculiarities of their miniaturized genomes. Here, we focus on a novel aspect of Utricularia ecophysiology-the interactions with and within the complex communities of microorganisms colonizing their traps and external surfaces.RESULTS:
Bacteria, fungi, algae, and protozoa inhabit the miniature ecosystem of the Utricularia trap lumen and are involved in the regeneration of nutrients from complex organic matter. By combining molecular methods, microscopy, and other approaches to assess the trap-associated microbial community structure, diversity, function, as well as the nutrient turn-over potential of bacterivory, we gained insight into the nutrient acquisition strategies of the Utricularia hosts.CONCLUSIONS:
We conclude that Utricularia traps can, in terms of their ecophysiological function, be compared to microbial cultivators or farms, which center around complex microbial consortia acting synergistically to convert complex organic matter, often of algal origin, into a source of utilizable nutrients for the plants.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Bactérias
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Metagenômica
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Lamiales
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Fungos
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2018
Tipo de documento:
Article