21
views
0
recommends
+1 Recommend
0 collections
    0
    shares
      • Record: found
      • Abstract: found
      • Article: not found

      Host selection of symbiotic cyanobacteria in 31 species of the Australian cycad genus: Macrozamia (Zamiaceae).

      Molecular plant-microbe interactions : MPMI
      Australia, Cyanobacteria, cytology, genetics, physiology, Nitrogen Fixation, Nostoc, Phylogeny, Plant Root Nodulation, Plant Roots, microbiology, Species Specificity, Symbiosis, Zamiaceae

      Read this article at

      ScienceOpenPublisherPubMed
      Bookmark
          There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

          Abstract

          The nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterium Nostoc is a commonly occurring terrestrial and aquatic cyanobacterium often found in symbiosis with a wide range of plant, algal, and fungal species. We investigated the diversity of cyanobacterial species occurring within the coralloid roots of different Macrozamia cycad species at diverse locations throughout Australia. In all, 74 coralloid root samples were processed and 56 endosymbiotic cyanobacteria were cultured. DNA was isolated from unialgal cultures and a segment of the 16S rRNA gene was amplified and sequenced. Microscopic analysis was performed on representative isolates. Twenty-two cyanobacterial species were identified, comprising mostly Nostoc spp. and a Calothrix sp. No correlation was observed between a cycad species and its resident cyanobiont species. The predominant cyanobacterium isolated from 18 root samples occurred over a diverse range of environmental conditions and within 14 different Macrozamia spp. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that endosymbionts were not restricted to previously described terrestrial species. An isolate clustering with Nostoc PCC7120, an aquatic strain, was identified. This is the first comprehensive study to identify the endosymbionts within a cycad genus using samples obtained from their natural habitats. These results indicate that there is negligible host specialization of cyanobacterial endosymbionts within the cycad genus Macrozamia in the wild.

          Related collections

          Author and article information

          Comments

          Comment on this article