Using microbial community composition to predict ecosystem response to global change.

Kristin MatulichJ. Martiny Lab

November 29th, 2011

Overview• Inspiration– Microbial BEF in the context of global change.– Current ecosystem models don’t include information

about microbial community.– Justify the need to incorporate microbial parameters into

global change prediction models.

• Main Question– What role does microbial community composition play in

litter decomposition, and how does that role change under environmental perturbations?

Approach• Field and laboratory experiment that manipulate

microbial composition and environmental perturbations.

• Experimental design will test:1. Effect of microbial community composition on litter decomposition

rates.2. How the effect of microbial community composition on

decomposition rates changes in response to environmental perturbations.

Field Experiment: Loma Ridge

• Enclose sterile leaf litter in “microbial cages” inoculated with microbial compositions.

• Cages will be collected from the the field after 180 days to determine the total leaf litter mass loss and final community composition.

Laboratory Experiment

Loma Ridge Bacterial Isolates

• Isolated from litter collected at different times of year and using multiple media.– LB and Litter Agar

• Current Inventory– 35 unique OTUs (97% similarity of 16s).• 18 Actinobacteria• 11 Proteobacteria• 6 Bacteriodetes

Gammaproteobacteria

Betaproteobacteria

Alphaproteobacteria

Actinobacteria

Bacteriodetes