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Introduction
Current institution
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May 2014 - April 2016
October 2008 - May 2014
Education
October 2002 - September 2008
Publications
Publications (86)
To elucidate the ecological role of biological soil crusts (BSCs) in the P-cycle and to disclose vegetation (pine vs. beech), soil horizon (A horizon vs. C horizon) and land use intensity effects, we examined BSCs collected from a temperate forest in Schorfheide-Chorin (Germany). Total C, N and P of the three sample compartments crust, crust-adheri...
Biological soil crusts, or “biocrusts”, are biogeochemical hotspots that can significantly influence ecosystem processes in arid environments. Although they can cover large areas, particularly in managed sites with frequent anthropogenic disturbance, their importance in mesic environments is not well understood. As in arid regions, biocrusts in mes...
Aim
Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) are autonomous ecosystems consisting of prokaryotic and eukaryotic microorganisms growing on the topsoil. They colonize global climatic zones, including temperate dunes. This study examines changes in the community structure of biocrust phototrophic organisms along a dune chronosequence at the Baltic Sea compa...
Biological soil crusts occur worldwide as pioneer communities stabilizing the soil surface. In coastal primary sand dunes, vascular plants cannot sustain due to scarce nutrients and the low-water-holding capacity of the sand sediment. Thus, besides planted dune grass, biocrusts are the only vegetation there. Although biocrusts can reach high covera...
Streptofilum capillatum forms a phylogenetically deep branch within the streptophytes and its unique cell covering composed of piliform scales-thus, it immediately atracted scientific atention after the description in 2018. Its phylogenetic position and taxonomic rank remain topics of ongoing debate. Here, we present additional strains of Streptofi...
During revision of the algae culture collection of the Institute of Botany (IBASU-A), interesting strains of cyanoprokaryotes were discovered, which appeared new phylogenetic lineages of the genus rank. The first strain was morphologically close to Microcoleus. Trichomes straight, cylindrical, narrowed and curved at the ends, sheath firm, homogeneo...
The article provides the results of a study on terrestrial algae inhabiting various substrates in the Holosiiv National Nature Park, which was established to protect the remnants of natural ecosystems in the Kyiv metropolitan area, Ukraine. Totally, 75 species were identified: Cyanobacteria (10 species), Chlorophyta (52), Charophyta (7), and Hetero...
Background
Network analyses are often applied to microbial communities using sequencing survey datasets. However, associations in such networks do not necessarily indicate actual biotic interactions, and even if they do, the nature of the interactions commonly remains unclear. While network analyses are valuable for generating hypotheses, the infer...
Streptofilum capillatum was recently described and immediately caught scientific attention, because it forms a phylogenetically deep branch in the streptophytes and is characterised by a unique cell coverage composed of piliform scales. Its phylogenetic position and taxonomic rank are still controversial discussed. In the present study, we isolated...
Cyanobacterial extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) are secondary metabolites with high physiological importance for survival under ultraviolet radiation (UVR). This is particularly important in drylands, where cyanobacteria are the main components of biological soil crusts (biocrusts), which are subjected to strong natural solar UVB (280–315 n...
Coral reefs are exposed to various environmental stressors that cause bleaching events, whereby endosymbiotic microalgae (Symbiodiniaceae) disassociate from coral hosts. Bleached corals are compromised and face mortality. The combination of high-light exposure and elevated seawater temperature often lead to coral bleaching. The physiological proper...
Harsh environmental conditions form habitats colonized by specialized primary microbial colonizers, e.g., biological soil crusts (biocrusts). These cryptogamic communities are well studied in drylands but much less in temperate coastal dunes, where they play a crucial role in ecological functions. Following two dune chronosequences, this study high...
Terrestrial diatoms are widespread in a large variety of habitats and are regularly recorded in biocrusts. Although diatoms have long been known to live in terrestrial habitats, only a few studies have focused on their diversity of ecophysiology. Here we present a study on the ecophysiological performance of five terrestrial diatom cultures from bi...
Die Kenntnis von Diversität und Aktivität der Bodenorganismen ist für die im Boden ablaufenden Prozesse und deren Stabilität sowie für die Entwicklung und Funktionsweise des Bodenökosystems von entscheidender Bedeutung. Dazu zählen u. a. der Ab‐ und Umbau organischer Substanzen, die Freisetzung und Fixierung von Nährstoffen und Gasen, die Stabilisi...
Polar ecosystems are experiencing amongst the most rapid rates of regional warming on Earth. Here, we discuss ‘omics’ approaches to investigate polar biodiversity, including the current state of the art, future perspectives and recommendations. We propose a community road map to generate and more fully exploit multi-omics data from polar organisms....
Several morphotypes of filamentous cyanobacteria were found in the terrestrial habitats of the Kharkiv Region (biological soil crusts) and in the vicinity of Kyiv (old concrete wall in the forest). Morphological and molecular characterization of four original strains revealed that they belong to recently described genera Wilmottia Strunecký, Elster...
Potash mining, typically performed for agricultural fertilizer production, can create piles of residual salt waste that are ecologically detrimental and difficult to revegetate. Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) have been found growing on and around these heaps, suggesting resilience to the hypersaline environment. We set out to understand the com...
![Copies of target region [per gram soil dry weight (dw)] 16S rRNA gene...](publication/372397991/figure/fig3/AS:11431281259077547@1720276056670/Copies-of-target-region-per-gram-soil-dry-weight-dw-16S-rRNA-gene-for-Archaea-and_Q320.jpg)
Introduction
Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) are known as biological hotspots on undisturbed, nutrient-poor bare soil surfaces and until now, are mostly observed in (semi-) arid regions but are currently poorly understood in agricultural systems. This is a crucial knowledge gap because managed sites of mesic regions can quickly cover large areas...
For the present study we collected the Ulvophyceae species Trentepohlia aurea from limestone rock near Berchtesgaden, Germany and the closely related taxa T. umbrina from Tilia cordata tree bark and T. jolithus from concrete wall both in Rostock, Germany. Freshly sampled material stained with Auramine O, DIOC6 and FM 1-43 showed an intact physiolog...
Interesting morphotypes of filamentous cyanobacteria were found in the terrestrial habitats of the Kharkiv region (biological soil crusts) and in the vicinity of Kyiv (old concrete wall in the forest). Morphological and molecular characterization of four original strains revealed that they belong to the recently described genera Wilmottia Strunecky...
Simple Summary
This publication focuses on a comparative biodiversity survey of cryptogamic covers along a dune chronosequence in the Baltic Sea compared to an inland dune in northern Germany. Following these gradients, the cryptogamic vegetation accumulated more and more biomass and nutrients (carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus). Further, a habitat-...
Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) harbor a diverse community of various microorganisms with microalgae as primary producers and bacteria living in close association. In mesic regions, biocrusts emerge rapidly on disturbed surface soil in forest, typically after clear-cut or windfall. It is unclear whether the bacterial community in biocrusts is si...
Desiccation and high salinity are two abiotic stressors that are related in terms of their effect on water homeostasis within cells. The success of certain aeroterrestrial microalgae is influenced by their ability to cope with desiccation, and in some cases, high salinity. The microalgae of the Stichococcus clade are ubiquitous in terrestrial habit...
Timaviella Sciuto & Moro is a recently established cryptic genus of cyanobacteria separated from the morphologically close Leptolyngbya due to clear differences in the 16S rRNA gene sequence and the 16S-23S ITS region secondary structure. Conducting research on biological soil crusts in coastal ecotopes of Ukraine and Germany, we repeatedly observe...
Single-celled green algae within the Trebouxiophyceae (Chlorophyta) are typical components of terrestrial habitats, which often exhibit harsh environmental conditions for these microorganisms. This study provides a detailed overview of the ecophysiological, biochemical and ultrastructural traits of analga living on tree bark. The alga was isolated...
Biocrust communities provide a pallet of ecosystem services, such as soil stabilization, altering of hydrological cycles and primary production, and often are the first colonizers of unvegetated surfaces during succession. Therefore, artificially establishing biocrusts can improve soil properties, for example, by stabilizing bare soil surfaces agai...
Changes in water balance are some of the most critical challenges that aeroterrestrial algae face. They have a wide variety of mechanisms to protect against osmotic stress, including, but not limited to, downregulating photosynthesis, the production of compatible solutes, spore and akinete formation, biofilms, as well as triggering structural cellu...
The taxonomy of green microalgae relies traditionally on morphological traits but has been rapidly changing since the advent of molecular methods. Stichococcus Nägeli is a cosmopolitan terrestrial algal genus of the class Trebouxiophy-ceae that has recently been split into seven lineages, which, along with Pseudostichococcus, comprise the Stichococ...
Shallow coastal marine ecosystems are exposed to intensive warming events in the last decade, threatening keystone macroalgal species such as the bladder wrack (Fucus vesiculosus, Phaeophyceae) in the Baltic Sea. Herein, we experimentally tested in four consecutive benthic mesocosm experiments, if the single and combined impact of elevated seawater...
The German Baltic Sea coastline is characterized by sea-land transitions zones, specifically coastal peatlands. Such transition zones exhibit highly fluctuating environmental parameters and dynamic gradients that affect physiological processes of inhabiting organisms such as microphytobenthic communities. In the present study four representative an...
The species composition of algae from biological soil crusts (biocrusts) on the surface of sand dunes (Black Sea coast, Primorske, Izmail District, Odesa Region, Ukraine) was investigated. Samples were collected from three coastal localities: Katranivska Spit, Zhebryianska Bay and Zhebryianska Ridge. The latter two localities are in the territory o...
Soil P pools are strongly driven by microbial activities, and vice versa, P pools shape bacterial communities and their functional potential. Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) represent a microbial hotspot for nutrient turnover. We compared biocrusts and bulk soil samples from different temperate beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) forests representing a g...
Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) accommodate diverse communities of phototrophic and heterotrophic microorganisms. Heterotrophic protists have critical roles in the microbial food webs of soils, with Cercozoa and Endomyxa often being dominant groups. Still, the diversity, community composition, and functions of Cercozoa and Endomyxa in biocrusts...
In coastal zones, salinity is commonly a rather local environmental factor that can be highly variable. Future climate change scenarios indicate for many coastal regions besides warming also changes in current salinity regime due to less precipitation, higher evaporation, or more freshwater run-off, resulting in decreasing or increasing saline cond...
Potash tailing piles caused by fertilizer production shape their surroundings because of the associated salt impact. A previous study in these environments addressed the functional community “biocrust” comprising various micro- and macro-organisms inhabiting the soil surface. In that previous study, biocrust microalgae and cyanobacteria were isolat...
The globally distributed green microalga Chlorella vulgaris (Chlorophyta) colonizes aquatic and terrestrial habitats, but the molecular mechanisms underpinning survival in these two contrasting environments are far from understood. Here, we compared the authentic strain of C. vulgaris from an aquatic habitat with a strain from a terrestrial high al...
Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) are terrestrial micro-habitats distributed in drylands and also in temperate coastal dunes. Biocrusts harbor phototrophic and heterotrophic microorganisms in the upper soil layer, which fulfil important ecological functions such as primary production and energy channelling via the microbial loop. Heterotrophic pro...
Biocrusts are associations of various prokaryotic and eukaryotic microorganisms in the top millimeters of soil, which can be found in every climate zone on Earth. They stabilize soils and introduce carbon and nitrogen into this compartment. The worldwide occurrence of biocrusts was proven by numerous studies in Europe, Africa, Asia and North Americ...
The terrestrial green algal members of the genera Interfilum and Klebsormidium (Klebsormidiophyceae, Streptophyta) are found in biological soil crusts of extreme habitats around the world where they are regularly exposed, among other abiotic stress factors, to high levels of ultraviolet radiation (UVR). As a consequence those species synthesize and...
Mining potash for fertilizer produces vast amounts of highly saline waste that is deposited in potash tailings piles. Rainfall washes the salts out, affecting the surrounding ecosystems. Only salt-tolerant organisms occur close to the piles, since other species cannot survive in these hypersaline conditions. Halophytic plant communities around tail...
The microbiota in three terrestrial habitats (biological soil crusts – crust, transition zone below – trans, crust-free soil – soil) was studied in 33 temperate forest stands differing in forest management intensity (ForMI). Specific lipid fractions and respective marker fatty acids were used to determine microbial biomass and community structure (...
Several strains of terrestrial algae isolated from biological soil crusts of Germany and Ukraine were identified by morphological methods as the widely distributed species Dictyosphaerium minutum (= Dictyosphaerium chlorelloides). Investigation of the phylogeny showed their position unexpectedly outside of Chlorellaceae (Trebouxiophyceae) and dista...
This correction stands to the correct a spelling error to contributor name: Karin Glaser. The author group and the publisher wish all to recognize the name as Karin Glaser and not the former. The original article has been corrected.
Most of the data on biodiversity, ecology and biogeography of microalgae and cyanobacteria are based on classical morphological approaches. However, morphological identification of these microorganisms is often possible only to higher taxonomic ranks such as genus, because of low morphological diversity and high variability along with the presence...
Zusammenfassung
de Idee dieser Studie ist es, die durch die Kali‐Industrie entstandenen Rückstandshalden mit biologischen Bodenkrusten in Verbindung mit einem Additiv‐Gemisch der Firma upi zu begrünen. Diese Lebensgemeinschaft aus unterschiedlichen Organismen wie Mikroalgen, Flechten und Moosen, ist in der Lage den Salzaustrag der Halden in die Umw...
Representatives of the Gomontiellaceae (Oscillatoriales) are rare and hence unstudied cyanobacteria with unusual morphology,
distributed in terrestrial and aquatic habitats all over the world. Investigation of the group based on an integrative
approach is only beginning, and to understand the actual biodiversity and ecology, a greater number of cul...
Streptophyte algae are the ancestors of land plants, and several classes contain taxa that are adapted to an aero-terrestrial lifestyle. In this study, four basal terrestrial streptophytes from the class Klebsormidiophyceae, including Hormidiella parvula; two species of the newly described genus Streptosarcina (S. costaricana and S. arenaria); and...
Anaerobic digestion of nitrogen-rich substrate often causes process inhibition due to the susceptibility of the microbial community facing ammonia accumulation. However, the precise response of the microbial community has remained largely unknown. To explore the reasons, bacterial communities in ammonia-stressed reactors and control reactors were s...
Seven new species and two varieties of Klebsormidium were described using an integrative approach on the base of 28 strains from the poorly studied phylogenetic superclade G. These strains originated from the unusual and exotic habitats (semi-deserts, semi-arid shrublands, Mediterranean shrub and deciduous vegetation, temperate Araucaria forests, p...
Biological soil crusts (BSCs) are highly important communities in drylands and disturbed areas worldwide, where the higher vegetation is sparse, with a diverse microalgal community as the key component. They perform important ecological functions, such as stabilization of soil and nutrient enrichment. In temperate regions BSCs are also common, but...
Table S1. List of algae used for phylogenetic analysis.
Two new genera (Streptosarcina and Streptofilum) and three new species (Streptosarcina arenaria, S. costaricana and Streptofilum capillatum) of streptophyte algae were detected in cultures isolated from terrestrial habitats of Europe and Central America and described using an integrative approach. Additionally, a strain isolated from soil in North...
In many regions of the world, aeroterrestrial green algae of the Trebouxiophyceae (Chlorophyta) represent very abundant soil microorganisms, and hence their taxonomy is crucial to investigate their physiological performance and ecological importance. Due to a lack in morphological features, taxonomic and phylogenetic studies of Trebouxiophycean alg...
We describe the performance of a new metabarcoding approach to investigate the environmental diversity of a prominent group of widespread unicellular organisms, the Cercozoa. Cercozoa is an immensely large group of protists and although it may dominate in soil and aquatic ecosystems, its environmental diversity remains undersampled. We designed PCR...
Wooden groin systems on the southwestern Baltic Sea coast are a traditional and important coastal-protection facility, but have been regularly infested and destroyed by the wood-boring bivalve Teredo navalis since the early 1990s. The occurrence of T. navalis was presumed to be limited mainly by the prevailing low salinities. Recently, a possible r...
Biological soil crusts (BSCs) form the most productive microbial biomass in many drylands and disturbed areas with a diverse microalgal community as key component. In temperate regions, BSCs are also common, but generally less studied, and they conduct important ecological functions, like stabilization of soil and enrichment of nutrients. Changes i...
We describe the performance of a new metabarcoding approach to investigate the environmental diversity of a prominent group of widespread unicellular organisms, the Cercozoa. Cercozoa is an immensely large group of protists and although it may dominate in soil and aquatic ecosystems, its environmental diversity remains undersampled. We designed PCR...
The green algal genus Klebsormidium (Klebsormidiophyceae, Streptophyta) is a typical member of biological soil crusts (BSCs) worldwide. Ecophysiological studies focused so far on individual strains and thus gave only limited insight on the plasticity of this genus. In the present study, 21 Klebsormidium strains (K. dissectum, K. flaccidum, K. niten...
Terrestrial filamentous green algae of the widely distributed, cosmopolitan genus Klebsormidium (Klebsormidiophyceae, Streptophyta) are typical components of biological soil crusts (BSCs). These communities occur in all climatic zones and on all continents, where soil moisture is limited or where there has been disturbance. BSCs form water-stable a...
In biological soil crusts from coastal sites of Ukraine a number of interesting cyanobacterial morphotypes were recorded. Characterization of seven original strains using molecular, morphological, and ecological information revealed that they belong to newly described genera of the orders Synechococcales (Oculatella Zammit, Billi et Albertano and N...
Trace elements (TE) play an essential role in all organisms due to their functions in enzyme complexes. In anaerobic digesters, control, and supplementation of TEs lead to stable and more efficient methane production processes while TE deficits cause process imbalances. However, the underlying metabolic mechanisms and the adaptation of the affected...
In biological soil crusts from coastal sites of Ukraine a number of interesting cyanobacterial morphotypes were recorded. Characterization of seven original strains using molecular, morphological, and ecological information revealed that they belong to newly described genera of the orders Synechococcales (Oculatella Zammit, Billi et Albertano and N...
Table S1. Information for Klebsormidium strains isolated from alpine soil crusts in the Tyrolean Alps, Austria, and Italy.
Forty Klebsormidium strains isolated from soil crusts of mountain regions (Alps, 600–3,000 m elevation) were analyzed. The molecular phylogeny (internal transcribed spacer rDNA sequences)
showed that these strains belong to clades B/C, D, E, and F. Seven main (K. flaccidum, K. elegans,
K. crenulatum, K. dissectum, K. nitens, K. subtile, and K. flui...
Forty Klebsormidium strains isolated from soil crusts of mountain regions (Alps, 600–3,000 m elevation) were analyzed. The molecular phylogeny (internal transcribed spacer rDNA sequences) showed that these strains belong to clades B/C, D, E, and F. Seven main (K. flaccidum, K. elegans, K. crenulatum, K. dissectum, K. nitens, K. subtile, and K. flui...
Significance
Land-use intensification is a major threat to biodiversity. So far, however, studies on biodiversity impacts of land-use intensity (LUI) have been limited to a single or few groups of organisms and have not considered temporal variation in LUI. Therefore, we examined total ecosystem biodiversity in grasslands varying in LUI with a newl...
Soil microeukaryotes may trophically benefit from plant biopolymers. However, carbon transfer from cellulose into soil microeukaryotes
has not been demonstrated so far. Microeukaryotes assimilating cellulose-derived carbon in oxic and anoxic soil slurries were
therefore examined by rRNA-based stable-isotope probing. Bacteriovorous flagellates and c...
Plasmid pMC1 from Delftia acidovorans MC1, carrying the genes for productive degradation of racemic 2-phenoxypropionate (dichlorprop, mecoprop) and phenoxyacetate herbicides (2,4-D, MCPA) was transferred to plasmid-free strains of Cupriavidus necator and Comamonas testosteroni. Cultivation of the transconjugant strains on (RS)-2-(2,4-dichlorophenox...
Questions
Questions (2)
It seems common knowledge that Cyanobacteria are nearly absent in acidic environments. I am especially interested in the low abundance of cyanobacteria in acidic soil (~4) compared to eukaryotic algae. Low pH stresses eukaryotic algae as well, anyway they occur in f.e. forest soils with low pH. Do they outcompete cyanobacteria? Or are cyanobacteria not able to cope with low pH - what is the weaker/missing molecular mechanisms compared to eukaryotic algae?
I was always against autocalving plastic before use them for PCR or RNA Extraktion. Open the box from the supplier only with gloves in a clean surrounding (bench cleaned with H2O2) was enough in my opinion. PCR tube were only cleaned by exposure to UV-light.
Here they autoclave things for PCR once and for RNA extraktion even twice to get them really clean.
Now I'm struggeling: Which is the right way? How do you handle it?
And am I right that RNase refolds itself after high temperatures?
