Assembly and co-occurrence networks of nitrogen-fixing bacteria associated with epiphyllous liverworts in fragmented tropical forests.

ABSTRACT: Understanding the spatial dynamics of plant-associated microbial communities is increasingly urgent in the context of habitat loss and the biodiversity crisis. However, the influence of reduced habitat size and connectivity on the assembly mechanisms underlying microbial associations is fundamental to advancing microbial ecology and conservation. In the Brazilian Amazon, we investigated nitrogen-fixing (diazotrophic) bacterial communities associated with two epiphyllous liverworts, Cololejeunea surinamensis and Radula flaccida, across 11 forest sites within the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project landscape. Using amplicon sequencing targeting the nitrogenase gene (nifH), we characterized diazotroph community diversity, inferred assembly mechanisms through n

SUBMITTER: Sierra AM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12560778 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature