Projects on cryptograms/symbiosis
Here you can read the descriptions of projects concerning cryptograms and symbiosis including who the key researchers are, as well as how the project is funded.
Plant productivity in pristine ecosystems like boreal and tropical cloud forests is limited by soil nutrients, primarily nitrogen (N). Mosses are major contributors to ecosystem productivity in these habitats, and most of them are colonized by N2-fixing cyanobacteria, thereby providing N to the ecosystem. Despite this key role, critical knowledge gaps exist. In particular, the climatic controls of moss-associated N2 fixation remain unclear, limiting our ability to quantify and project climate change effects on this fundamental ecosystem function. Further, it is unknown whether mosses and associated cyanobacteria share a mutualistic (both partners benefit) or parasitic (one partner benefits at the expense of the other) relationship. Yet, the balance of this association is crucial for maintaining ecosystem productivity. In SYMBIONIX, we will combine field, laboratory and modelling approaches to fill these knowledge gaps by addressing 4 objectives. We will (1) identify the climatic controls of N2 fixation in mosses from contrasting ecosystems: boreal forests and tropical cloud forests, (2) ascertain the degree of mutualism or parasitism between moss and cyanobacteria using transcriptomics, (3) determine nutrient exchange rates between moss and cyanobacteria using nanoSIMS. The ultimate goal is (4) to model ecosystem N input via N2 fixation in boreal and tropical ecosystems.
Key-researchers: Kathrin Rousk, Danillo Alvarenga, Yunyao Ma
Collaborators: Andrea Vincent (UCR)
PI: Kathrin Rousk
Funded by European Research Council