Microbiomes of Velloziaceae from phosphorus-impoverished soils of the campos rupestres, a biodiversity hotspot.

The rocky, seasonally-dry and nutrient-impoverished soils of the Brazilian campos rupestres impose severe growth-limiting conditions on plants. Species of a dominant plant family, Velloziaceae, are highly specialized to low-nutrient conditions and seasonal water availability of this environment, where phosphorus (P) is the key limiting nutrient. Despite plant-microbe associations playing critical roles in stressful ecosystems, the contribution of these interactions in the campos rupestres remains poorly studied. Here we present the first microbiome data of Velloziaceae spp. thriving in contrasting substrates of campos rupestres. We assessed the microbiomes of Vellozia epidendroides, which occupies shallow patches of soil, and Barbacenia macrantha, growing on exposed rocks. The prokaryotic and fungal profiles were assessed by rRNA barcode sequencing of epiphytic and endophytic compartments of roots, stems, leaves and surrounding soil/rocks. We also generated root and substrate (rock/soil)-associated metagenomes of each plant species. We foresee that these data will contribute to decipher how the microbiome contributes to plant functioning in the campos rupestres, and to unravel new strategies for improved crop productivity in stressful environments.

Foliar water uptake in Amazonian trees: Evidence and consequences.

The absorption of atmospheric water directly into leaves enables plants to alleviate the water stress caused by low soil moisture, hydraulic resistance in the xylem and the effect of gravity on the water column, while enabling plants to scavenge small inputs of water from leaf-wetting events. By increasing the availability of water, and supplying it from the top of the canopy (in a direction facilitated by gravity), foliar uptake (FU) may be a significant process in determining how forests interact with climate, and could alter our interpretation of current metrics for hydraulic stress and sensitivity. FU has not been reported for lowland tropical rainforests; we test whether FU occurs in six common Amazonian tree genera in lowland Amazônia, and make a first estimation of its contribution to canopy-atmosphere water exchange. We demonstrate that FU occurs in all six genera and that dew-derived water may therefore be used to "pay" for some morning transpiration in the dry season. Using meteorological and canopy wetness data, coupled with empirically derived estimates of leaf conductance to FU (kfu ), we estimate that the contribution by FU to annual transpiration at this site has a median value of 8.2% (103 mm/year) and an interquartile range of 3.4%-15.3%, with the biggest sources of uncertainty being kfu and the proportion of time the canopy is wet. Our results indicate that FU is likely to be a common strategy and may have significant implications for the Amazon carbon budget. The process of foliar water uptake may also have a profound impact on the drought tolerance of individual Amazonian trees and tree species, and on the cycling of water and carbon, regionally and globally.

Metapopulation dynamics of the mistletoe and its host in savanna areas with different fire occurrence.

Mistletoes are aerial hemiparasitic plants which occupy patches of favorable habitat (host trees) surrounded by unfavorable habitat and may be possibly modeled as a metapopulation. A metapopulation is defined as a subdivided population that persists due to the balance between colonization and extinction in discrete habitat patches. Our aim was to evaluate the dynamics of the mistletoe Psittacanthus robustus and its host Vochysia thyrsoidea in three Brazilian savanna areas using a metapopulation approach. We also evaluated how the differences in terms of fire occurrence affected the dynamic of those populations (two areas burned during the study and one was fire protected). We monitored the populations at six-month intervals. P. robustus population structure and dynamics met the expected criteria for a metapopulation: i) the suitable habitats for the mistletoe occur in discrete patches; (ii) local populations went extinct during the study and (iii) colonization of previously non-occupied patches occurred. The ratio of occupied patches decreased in all areas with time. Local mistletoe populations went extinct due to two different causes: patch extinction in area with no fire and fire killing in the burned areas. In a burned area, the largest decrease of occupied patch ratios occurred due to a fire event that killed the parasites without, however, killing the host trees. The greatest mortality of V. thyrsoidea occurred in the area without fire. In this area, all the dead trees supported mistletoe individuals and no mortality was observed for parasite-free trees. Because P. robustus is a fire sensitive species and V. thyrsoidea is fire tolerant, P. robustus seems to increase host mortality, but its effect is lessened by periodic burning that reduces the parasite loads.

Cloreto de potássio e fosfato de sódio na multiplicação in vitro de amoreira-preta cv. Tupy / Effect of KCl and NaH2PO4.H2O on in vitro multiplication of blackberry cv. Tupy

A micropropagação da amoreira-preta pode gerar plantas livres de vírus e em curto espaço de tempo. Com o objetivo de aprimorar técnicas de micropropagação de amoreira-preta cv. Tupy (Rubus spp.), segmentos nodais com cerca 2 cm e 2 gemas axilares, oriundos de plantas pré estabelecidas in vitro, foram excisados e inoculados em meio de cultura MS, suplementado com diferentes concentrações de fosfato de sódio (0, 125, 250, 500 e 1000 mg L-1) e de cloreto de potássio (0, 125, 250, 500 e 1000 mg L-1). O pH foi ajustado para 5,8 antes da adição de 6 g L-1 de ágar e da autoclavagem a 121ºC e 1 atm por 20 minutos. Após a inoculação, os explantes foram transferidos para sala de crescimento a 25 ± 1ºC, irradiância de 35 mmol m-2 s-1 e fotoperíodo de 16 horas, onde permaneceram por 60 dias. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi inteiramente casualisado, utilizando-se de quatro repetições constituídas de três tubos de ensaio contendo um explante cada. O número de brotos e o comprimento da parte aérea das plantas foi menor em função de maiores concentrações de cloreto de potássio. Melhores resultados foram obtidos na ausência de KCl e na presença de fosfato de sódio, principalmente para comprimento e matéria fresca da parte aérea.

The micropropagation of blackberry can generate virus-free plants in short time. In order to improve micropropagation techniques of blackberry cv. Tupy (Rubus spp.), nodal segments with 2 cm length and 2 axillary buds originating from plants in vitro were excised and inoculated in MS culture medium, supplemented with different concentrations of sodium phosphate (0, 125, 250, 500 and 1000 mg L-1) and potassium chloride (0, 125, 250, 500 and 1000 mg L-1). The pH was adjusted to 5.8 before the addition of 6 g L-1 agar and sterilization at 121ºC and 1 atm for 20 minutes. After the inoculation, the explants were transferred to growth room at 25 ± 1ºC, 35 mmol m-2 s-1 irradiance and photoperiod of 16 hours, where they stayed for 60 days. The experiment was arranged in a completely randomized design, using four repetitions with 12 plants each. Number of sprouts and length of the aerial part of plants were smaller, due to larger concentrations of potassium chloride. Better results were obtained in the absence of KCl, and in the presence of sodium phosphate, mainly for length and fresh weight of the aerial part.