TMEL Crew

(From left to right: Elba, Natasha, Duby, Gloried, Laura, Massol, Alejo, Eva, Gina, Sirena, Samaria y yo)

 

Updates on Phyllosphere

Here is an update on what studies have concluded on the phyllosphere:

Source: Ching-Hong Yang et al. Microbial phyllosphere populations are more complex than previously realized

“Phyllosphere microbial communities were evaluated on leaves of field-grown plant species by culture-dependent and -independent methods. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) with 16S rDNA primers generally indicated that microbial community structures were similar on different individuals of the same plant species, but unique on different plant species.”

Source: Mark J. Bailey et al. Phyllosphere Microbial Diversity

“Nutrients, including amino acids, carbohydrates, or organic acids, and water can be limiting on the leaf surface. However, additional nutrients can diffuse via the waxy cuticle particularly after damage following infection or ageing. In addition, temperature, ultraviolet (UV), and infrared radiation fluctuate diurnally and directly affect the biota on the upper (adaxial) surface of the leaf. These biotic and abiotic factors all expose microbial communities to extreme stress that require resistance or tolerance mechanisms to aid survival. It is therefore apparent that bacteria, yeast, and fungi, which colonize aerial plant surfaces, must be specialists that have adapted to life at the edge.”

Source: Adriana B. Abril et al. The importance of phyllosphere microbial populations in nitrogen cycling in the Chaco semi-arid woodland

“Most important nutrient exchanges in the phyllosphere-atmosphere interface are mediated by microbial populations. For example, some authors have considered that nitrogen fixation in the phyllosphere is the main mechanism for nitrogen gain in humid tropical ecosystems, because of the substantial nutrient demand resulting from a high plant productivity and the constraint imposed by the generally low nitrogen availability in soil.”

Source: M. R. Lambais et al. Bacterial Diversity in Tree Canopies of the Atlantic Forest

“We found an extraordinary level of bacterial biodiversity in the tree leaf canopy of a tropical Atlantic forest by using culture-independent molecular methods. Our survey suggests that each tree species selects for a distinct microbial community. Analysis of the bacterial 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequences revealed that about 97% of the bacteria were unknown species and that the phyllosphere of any one tree species carries at least 95 to 671 bacterial species. The tree canopies of tropical forests likely represent a large reservoir of unexplored microbial diversity. ^“

 

Hello!

Welcome to my Bioblog!!

This is the place where you’ll be up to date with the latest approaches in characterizing the biodiversity in tropical forests. You will also learn about my research at the Tropical Microbial Ecology Lab (TMEL) at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez.

I would like to thank you for stopping by and leaving a comment.

Steven E. Lindow1 and Maria T. Brandl. Microbiology of the Phyllosphere. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, Apr. 2003, p. 1875–1883.

FIG. 1. Fluorescence micrograph of the natural microbial flora colonizing the bean phyllosphere. A large mixed bacterial aggregate (green arrow), which also includes a fungal hypha (orange arrow), has formed at the base of a glandular trichome (white arrow). Bacteria are present also at plant cell junctions and on veins (blue arrows). The red background originates from the autofluorescent chloroplasts within the leaf epidermal cells. The natural microbial flora was visualized by confocal laser scanning microscope-projected series of the surface of a leaf from a bean plant grown in the field and subsequently incubated under humid conditions at 24°C. The microbial flora was stained with Live Light (Molecular Probes, Inc., Eugene, Oreg.), which imparts green and red fluorescence to gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria, respectively. Bar = 20 µm