Nitrogen fixation and nifH gene diversity in cyanobacteria living on feather mosses in a subalpine forest of Mt. Fuji.

ABSTRACT: In the boreal forests, feather mosses such as Hylocomium splendens and Pleurozium schreberi are colonized by cyanobacteria, which provide large amounts of nitrogen to forest ecosystems through nitrogen fixation. Although these feather mosses are also ubiquitous in subalpine forests of East Asia, little is known regarding their associated cyanobacteria and their ability to fix nitrogen. In this study, we investigated (1) whether cyanobacteria co-exist and fix nitrogen in the two species of feather mosses that cover the ground surface in a subalpine forest of Mt. Fuji, (2) whether cyanobacteria belonging to a common cluster with boreal forests are found in feather mosses in Mt. Fuji, and (3) whether moss-associated nitrogen fixation rates differed among moss growing substrates, canopy openne

SUBMITTER: Kubota M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10038973 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature