ArticleThe ISME journal2021
A symbiotic nutrient exchange within the cyanosphere microbiome of the biocrust cyanobacterium, Microcoleus vaginatus.
Article in The ISME journal, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 34 papers.
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Who cites it
34 citing papers in PubMed, 83 citations in OpenAlex.
- Unraveling the diversity and functional potential of cyanosphere microbiomes assembled from terrestrial cyanobacteria.Applied and environmental microbiology · 2026Article
- Article
- Microalgae-Bacteria Interactions in the Bio-based Circular Economy: Mechanisms and Biotechnological Applications.Current microbiology · 2026Review
- Population and herbarium genomics provide a comprehensive framework for a revision of Microcoleus (Cyanobacteria).Journal of phycology · 2026Article
- The Importance ofMicroorganisms · 2026Article
- Rainfall-induced microbial resuscitation reveals functional decoupling across biocrust succession.The ISME journal · 2026Article
- From strains to ecosystems: biocrust microbiomes as a new paradigm for dryland agriculture.The ISME journal · 2026Article
- The natural history of a biocrust architect, the cyanobacterium Microcoleus vaginatus.FEMS microbiology reviews · 2026Review
- Stage-specific cyanobacterial handoffs and heterotrophic subsidies underpin biocrust carbon accumulation.ISME communications · 2026Article
- Cultivation in a Natural Microbial Community Enhances the Industrial Performance of a Genetically Engineered Cyanobacterium for Bioplastic Production.Microbial biotechnology · 2026Article
- The microbiome of marine mat-forming cyanobacteria-a microcosm of taxonomic novelty and phototrophic diversity.ISME communications · 2026Article
- Synergistic interactions between biogenic organic matter and microbial dynamics during simulated senescent cyanobacterial blooms in freshwater mesocosms.Frontiers in microbiomes · 2026Article
- Controlled Carbon Loss: Threshold-Dependent Overflow Metabolism inMicroorganisms · 2025Article
- The Desert in Bottles: The Culturable Microbiome of the Atacama Desert's Grit Crust.Environmental microbiology reports · 2025Article
- Cyanobacteria and Soil Restoration: Bridging Molecular Insights with Practical Solutions.Microorganisms · 2025Review
- Molecular Mechanisms ofPlants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Model cyanobacterial consortia reveal a consistent core microbiome independent of inoculation source or cyanobacterial host species.The ISME journal · 2025Article
- Urea-based mutualistic transfer of nitrogen in biological soil crusts.The ISME journal · 2025Article
- The symbiotic alga Trebouxia fuels a coherent soil ecosystem on the landscape scale in the Atacama Desert.Environmental microbiome · 2024Article
- Molecular Screening for Cyanobacteria and Their Cyanotoxin Potential in Diverse Habitats.Toxins · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Microcoleus vaginatus plays a prominent role as both primary producer and pioneer in biocrust communities from dryland soils. And yet, it cannot fix dinitrogen, essential in often nitrogen-limited drylands. But a diazotroph-rich "cyanosphere" has been described in M. vaginatus, hinting that there exists a C for N exchange between the photoautotroph and heterotrophic diazotrophs. We provide evidence for this by establishing such a symbiosis in culture and by showing that it is selective and dependent on nitrogen availability. In natural populations, provision of nitrogen resulted in loss of diazotrophs from the cyanosphere of M. vaginatus compared to controls, but provision of phosphorus did not. Co-culturing of pedigreed cyanosphere diazotroph isolates with axenic M. vaginatus resulted in copious growth in C and N-free medium, but co-culture with non-cyanosphere diazotrophs or other heterotrophs did not. Unexpectedly, bundle formation in M. vaginatus, diacritical to the genus but not seen in axenic culture, was restored in vitro by imposed nitrogen limitation or, even more strongly, by co-culture with diazotrophic partners, implicating this trait in the symbiosis. Our findings provide direct evidence for a symbiotic relationship between M. vaginatus and its cyanosphere and help explain how it can be a global pioneer in spite of its genetic shortcomings.
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