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Title: Bacteria increase arid-land soil surface temperature through the production of sunscreens

Abstract

Soil surface temperature, an important driver of terrestrial biogeochemical processes, depends strongly on soil albedo, which can be significantly modified by factors such as plant cover. In sparsely vegetated lands, the soil surface can be colonized by photosynthetic microbes that build biocrust communities. Here we use concurrent physical, biochemical and microbiological analyses to show that mature biocrusts can increase surface soil temperature by as much as 10 °C through the accumulation of large quantities of a secondary metabolite, the microbial sunscreen scytonemin, produced by a group of late-successional cyanobacteria. Scytonemin accumulation decreases soil albedo significantly. Such localized warming has apparent and immediate consequences for the soil microbiome, inducing the replacement of thermosensitive bacterial species with more thermotolerant forms. These results reveal that not only vegetation but also microorganisms are a factor in modifying terrestrial albedo, potentially impacting biosphere feedbacks on past and future climate, and call for a direct assessment of such effects at larger scales.

Authors:
 [1];  [2];  [2];  [2];  [2];  [3];  [4]
  1. Arizona State Univ., Tempe, AZ (United States)
  2. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
  3. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)
  4. Arizona State Univ., Tempe, AZ (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)
OSTI Identifier:
1255544
Alternate Identifier(s):
OSTI ID: 1379041
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC02- 05CH11231; AC02-05CH11231
Resource Type:
Journal Article: Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Nature Communications
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 7; Journal ID: ISSN 2041-1723
Publisher:
Nature Publishing Group
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES

Citation Formats

Couradeau, Estelle, Karaoz, Ulas, Lim, Hsiao Chien, Nunes da Rocha, Ulisses, Northen, Trent, Brodie, Eoin, and Garcia-Pichel, Ferran. Bacteria increase arid-land soil surface temperature through the production of sunscreens. United States: N. p., 2016. Web. doi:10.1038/ncomms10373.
Couradeau, Estelle, Karaoz, Ulas, Lim, Hsiao Chien, Nunes da Rocha, Ulisses, Northen, Trent, Brodie, Eoin, & Garcia-Pichel, Ferran. Bacteria increase arid-land soil surface temperature through the production of sunscreens. United States. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms10373
Couradeau, Estelle, Karaoz, Ulas, Lim, Hsiao Chien, Nunes da Rocha, Ulisses, Northen, Trent, Brodie, Eoin, and Garcia-Pichel, Ferran. 2016. "Bacteria increase arid-land soil surface temperature through the production of sunscreens". United States. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms10373. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1255544.
@article{osti_1255544,
title = {Bacteria increase arid-land soil surface temperature through the production of sunscreens},
author = {Couradeau, Estelle and Karaoz, Ulas and Lim, Hsiao Chien and Nunes da Rocha, Ulisses and Northen, Trent and Brodie, Eoin and Garcia-Pichel, Ferran},
abstractNote = {Soil surface temperature, an important driver of terrestrial biogeochemical processes, depends strongly on soil albedo, which can be significantly modified by factors such as plant cover. In sparsely vegetated lands, the soil surface can be colonized by photosynthetic microbes that build biocrust communities. Here we use concurrent physical, biochemical and microbiological analyses to show that mature biocrusts can increase surface soil temperature by as much as 10 °C through the accumulation of large quantities of a secondary metabolite, the microbial sunscreen scytonemin, produced by a group of late-successional cyanobacteria. Scytonemin accumulation decreases soil albedo significantly. Such localized warming has apparent and immediate consequences for the soil microbiome, inducing the replacement of thermosensitive bacterial species with more thermotolerant forms. These results reveal that not only vegetation but also microorganisms are a factor in modifying terrestrial albedo, potentially impacting biosphere feedbacks on past and future climate, and call for a direct assessment of such effects at larger scales.},
doi = {10.1038/ncomms10373},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1255544}, journal = {Nature Communications},
issn = {2041-1723},
number = ,
volume = 7,
place = {United States},
year = {Wed Jan 20 00:00:00 EST 2016},
month = {Wed Jan 20 00:00:00 EST 2016}
}

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Cited by: 126 works
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Works referenced in this record:

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journal, March 2012


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Ultra-high-throughput microbial community analysis on the Illumina HiSeq and MiSeq platforms
journal, March 2012


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Works referencing / citing this record:

Biocrusts: the living skin of the earth
journal, July 2018


The Compositionally Distinct Cyanobacterial Biocrusts From Brazilian Savanna and Their Environmental Drivers of Community Diversity
journal, December 2019


Simulated climate change affects how biocrusts modulate water gains and desiccation dynamics after rainfall events
journal, January 2018


Spectral Response Analysis: An Indirect and Non-Destructive Methodology for the Chlorophyll Quantification of Biocrusts
journal, June 2019


Factors influencing pigment production by halophilic bacteria and its effect on brine evaporation rates
journal, October 2018


Cyanobacterial biocrust diversity in Mediterranean ecosystems along a latitudinal and climatic gradient
journal, July 2018


Biocrust morphology is linked to marked differences in microbial community composition
journal, October 2017


Establishing rates of lateral expansion of cyanobacterial biological soil crusts for optimal restoration
journal, June 2018


Biophysical processes supporting the diversity of microbial life in soil
journal, August 2017


Warming reduces the cover, richness and evenness of lichen-dominated biocrusts but promotes moss growth: insights from an 8 yr experiment
journal, January 2018


Effect of preconditioning to the soil environment on the performance of 20 cyanobacterial strains used as inoculum for biocrust restoration
journal, November 2019


Nursing biocrusts: isolation, cultivation, and fitness test of indigenous cyanobacteria: Nursing biocrust cyanobacteria
journal, January 2019


Dryland photoautotrophic soil surface communities endangered by global change
journal, February 2018


Restoring soil functions by means of cyanobacteria inoculation: Importance of soil conditions and species selection
journal, July 2018


Characterization of maximum land surface temperatures in 16 years from MODIS in Iran
journal, June 2018


Altering biocrusts for an altered climate
journal, February 2016


Cyanobacterial diversity of western European biological soil crusts along a latitudinal gradient
journal, July 2016


Succession and Colonization Dynamics of Endolithic Phototrophs within Intertidal Carbonates
journal, February 2020


Grazing pressure interacts with aridity to determine the development and diversity of biological soil crusts in Patagonian rangelands
journal, December 2019


Soil bacterial communities of Sahara and Gibson deserts: Physiological and taxonomical characteristics
journal, January 2018


Albedo feedbacks to future climate via climate change impacts on dryland biocrusts
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Biological soil crusts: diminutive communities of potential global importance
journal, March 2017


Assessing the influence of soil abiotic and biotic factors on Nostoc commune inoculation success
journal, August 2019


Albedo feedbacks to future climate via climate change impacts on dryland biocrusts
journal, March 2017


Soil surface disturbance alters cyanobacterial biocrusts and soil properties in dry grassland and shrubland ecosystems
journal, June 2019


Factors influencing pigment production by halophilic bacteria and its effect on brine evaporation rates
journal, October 2018


Microbial communities from arid environments on a global scale. A systematic review
journal, July 2020


Cyanobacterial diversity of western European biological soil crusts along a latitudinal gradient
journal, July 2016