Huber Luciano, Malfatti Eduardo, Huber Carla S R, Taylor Joe D, Utz Laura R P
Laboratorio de Protistologia, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, UK.
J Eukaryot Microbiol. 2025 May-Jun;72(3):e70009. doi: 10.1111/jeu.70009.
Soil and bromeliads are important habitats contributing to the biodiversity of the Atlantic Forest in Brazil. However, knowledge of unicellular eukaryotes and bacteria in these environments remains limited. This study compared the diversity and community structure of unicellular eukaryotes, fungi, metazoan, and bacteria in bromeliad water tanks (BWT) and adjacent soil using 16S and 18S rRNA gene metabarcoding. Communities differed significantly between habitats but shared some taxa, suggesting habitat connectivity. Ciliates dominated unicellular eukaryotes in BWT, while Cercozoa prevailed in soil. Bacterial communities were dominated by Pseudomonadota, while fungal composition was more uniform, with Ascomycota as the dominant phylum across samples. Metazoan communities varied among abundant phyla, and their presence in BWT suggests the use of this water resource within the forest. This study provides essential baseline data on eukaryotic and bacterial diversity in this unique ecosystem, highlighting how distinct habitats within the Atlantic Forest support different communities.
土壤和凤梨科植物是对巴西大西洋森林生物多样性有重要贡献的栖息地。然而，对这些环境中单细胞真核生物和细菌的了解仍然有限。本研究使用16S和18S rRNA基因宏条形码技术，比较了凤梨科植物水箱（BWT）和相邻土壤中单细胞真核生物、真菌、后生动物和细菌的多样性及群落结构。不同栖息地的群落差异显著，但有一些分类群是共有的，这表明栖息地之间存在连通性。纤毛虫在BWT的单细胞真核生物中占主导地位，而丝足虫在土壤中占优势。细菌群落以假单胞菌门为主，而真菌组成更为均匀，子囊菌门是所有样本中的优势门。后生动物群落在丰富的门类中各不相同，它们在BWT中的存在表明森林中利用了这种水资源。本研究提供了关于这个独特生态系统中真核生物和细菌多样性的重要基础数据，突出了大西洋森林内不同栖息地如何支持不同群落。
