Unraveling host - microbe interactions and ecosystem functions in moss-bacteria symbioses

Research output: Contribution to journalReviewpeer-review

Mosses are non-vascular plants usually found in moist and shaded areas, with great ecological importance in several ecosystems. This is especially true in northern latitudes, where mosses are responsible for up to 100% of primary production in some ecosystems. Mosses establish symbiotic associations with unique bacteria that play key roles in the carbon and nitrogen cycles. For instance, in boreal environments, more than 35% of the nitrogen fixed by diazotrophic symbionts in peatlands is transferred to mosses, directly affecting carbon fixation by the hosts, while moss-associated methanotrophic bacteria contribute 10-30% of moss carbon. Further, half of ecosystem N input may derive from moss-cyanobacteria associations in pristine ecosystems. Moss-bacteria interactions have consequences on a global scale since northern environments sequester 20% of all the carbon generated by forests in the world and stock at least 32% of global terrestrial carbon. Different moss hosts influence bacteria in distinct ways, which suggests that threats to mosses also threaten unique microbial communities with important ecological and biogeochemical consequences. Since their origin similar to 500 Ma, mosses have interacted with bacteria, making these associations ideal models for understanding the evolution of plant-microbe associations and their contribution to biogeochemical cycles.

Original languageEnglish
JournalJournal of Experimental Botany
Volume73
Issue number13
Pages (from-to)4473–4486
Number of pages14
ISSN0022-0957
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2022

Bibliographical note

CENPERM[2022]

    Research areas

  • Bryophyta, carbon, cyanobacteria, global change, microbiome, mutualism, nitrogen fixation, plant-microbe interactions, ASYMBIOTIC NITROGEN-FIXATION, 16S RIBOSOMAL-RNA, SPHAGNUM MOSSES, BOREAL, PLANT, CYANOBACTERIA, DIVERSITY, BRYOPHYTE, FUTURE, COMMUNITIES

ID: 312708590