Cyanobacteria drive community composition and functionality in rock-soil interface communities

dc.contributor.authorValverde, Angel
dc.contributor.authorMakhalanyane, Thulani Peter
dc.contributor.authorSeely, Mary
dc.contributor.authorCowan, Don A.
dc.date.accessioned2015-03-05T10:55:21Z
dc.date.available2015-03-05T10:55:21Z
dc.date.issued2015-02
dc.description.abstractMost ecological research on hypoliths, significant primary producers in hyperarid deserts, has focused on the diversity of individual groups of microbes (i.e. bacteria). However, microbial communities are inherently complex, and the interactions between cyanobacteria, heterotrophic bacteria, protista and metazoa, are likely to be very important for ecosystem functioning. Cyanobacterial and heterotrophic bacterial communities were analysed by pyrosequencing, while metazoan and protistan communities were assessed by T-RFLP analysis. Microbial functionality was estimated using carbon substrate utilization. Cyanobacterial community composition was significant in shaping community structure and function in hypoliths. Ecological network analysis showed that most significant co-occurrences were positive, representing potential synergistic interactions. There were several highly interconnected associations (modules) and specific cyanobacteria were important in driving the modular structure of hypolithic networks. Together, our results suggest that hypolithic cyanobacteria have strong effects on higher trophic levels and ecosystem functioning.en_ZA
dc.description.embargo2016-02-28en_ZA
dc.description.librarianhb2015en_ZA
dc.description.sponsorshipNational Research Foundation (South Africa) and the University of Pretoria.en_ZA
dc.description.urihttp://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1755-0998en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationValverde, A, Makhalanyane, TP, Seely, M & Cowan, DA 2015, 'Cyanobacteria drive community composition and functionality in rock-soil interface communities', Molecular Ecology, vol. 24, no. 4, pp. 812-821.en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn0962-1083 (print)
dc.identifier.issn1365-294X (online)
dc.identifier.other10.1111/mec.13068
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/43880
dc.language.isoenen_ZA
dc.publisherWileyen_ZA
dc.rights© John Wiley and Sons Ltd. This is the pre-peer reviewed version of the following article : Cyanobacteria drive community composition and functionality in rock-soil interface communities, Molecular Ecology, vol. 24, no. 4, pp. 812-821, 2015. doi :10.1111/mec.13068 .en_ZA
dc.subjectCyanobacteriaen_ZA
dc.subjectHeterotrophic bacteriaen_ZA
dc.subjectHypolithsen_ZA
dc.subjectMetazoaen_ZA
dc.subjectNetwork analysisen_ZA
dc.subjectProtozoaen_ZA
dc.titleCyanobacteria drive community composition and functionality in rock-soil interface communitiesen_ZA
dc.typePostprint Articleen_ZA

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