Quantum Dots Reveal Shifts in Organic Nitrogen Uptake by Fungi Exposed to Long-Term Nitrogen Enrichment.

ABSTRACT: Anthropogenic nitrogen (N) enrichment can alter N dynamics associated with decomposing plant litter. However, it is unclear to what extent these alterations occur via microbial effects (e.g., changes in gene regulation, physiology, or community composition) versus plant litter effects (e.g., changes in composition of N and C compounds). To isolate microbial effects from plant litter effects, we collected plant litter from long-term N fertilized and control plots, reciprocally inoculated it with microbes from the two treatments, and incubated it in a common field setting for three months. We used quantum dots (QDs) to track fungal uptake of glycine and chitosan. Glycine is a relatively simple organic N compound; chitosan is more complex. We found that microbial and litter origins each contr

SUBMITTER: Hynson NA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4569051 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature