Universität zu Köln

Walden, Susanne ORCID: 0000-0002-7210-7646 (2021). The Protists of Tree Canopies. PhD thesis, Universität zu Köln.

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Abstract

Eukaryotic microorganisms, i.e. protists, are the base of all multicellular life on Earth, which independently evolved in three of the 26 major eukaryotic lineages. Apart from dominating eukaryotic diversity, protists play fundamental roles in many Earth system processes – representing all trophic levels, including autotrophs, mixotrophs, saprotrophs, eukaryvores, omnivores as well as parasites and their hyperparasites. Recent progress in molecular methods for the first time opens a window into the black box of protistan diversity in terrestrial ecosystems. Among terrestrial habitats, the highly heterogeneous habitat represented by tree canopies is presumed to harbour diverse but, until now, poorly characterized communities of these microbial eukaryotes. A majority of protists that have been identified to strongly interact with plant surfaces can be assigned to the Stramenopiles-Alveolata-Rhizaria (SAR) supergroup, in particular representatives belonging to the monophyletic group of Cercozoa (Rhizaria). Their ability to rapidly excyst, feed and multiply within short generation times, represents an advantageous evolutionary adaptation to the highly variable microclimatic conditions prevailing up in the tree crowns. For our investigation we perfomed a series of metabarcoding analyses with highly group-specific primers to comprehensively analyse communities of Cercozoa in various ecological compartments (microhabitats), from the forest floor to the canopy region, across two biomes (temperate and tropical forest). With the findings described herein, we were the first to assess quantitative and qualitative informations on canopy associated cercozoan communities, which, in turn, contribute to the understanding of the processes governing distribution and selection of microbial eukaryotes in terrestrial ecosystems. Finally, our investigations provide new insights into the ecosystem functioning as well as ecosystem services tree canopies provide.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD thesis)
Translated title:	Title Language Die Protisten der Baumkronen German
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID ORCID Put Code Walden, Susanne susanne.walden@web.de orcid.org/0000-0002-7210-7646 UNSPECIFIED
URN:	urn:nbn:de:hbz:38-538175
Date:	23 August 2021
Place of Publication:	Köln
Language:	English
Faculty:	Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences
Divisions:	Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences > Department of Biology > Zoologisches Institut
Subjects:	Life sciences
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Keywords Language Protists; Tree Canopies; Cercozoa; Protistome; Phytobiome; Phyllosphere; Microbial Eukaryotes; Plant Microbiome English Protisten; Baumkronen; Cercozoa; Protistom; Phytobiom; Phyllosphäre; Mikrobielle Eukaryoten; Pflanzenmikrobiom German
Date of oral exam:	18 October 2021
Referee:	Name Academic Title Bonkowski, Michael Prof. Dr. Lampert, Kathrin PD Dr. Schlegel, Martin Prof. Dr.
Funders:	DFP Schwerpunktprogramm (SPP1991)
Projects:	Taxon-Omics: New Approaches for Discovering and Naming Biodiversity
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	http://kups.ub.uni-koeln.de/id/eprint/53817