Leroy et al. 2015 (Conference Paper) Nutrients absorption

The contribution of microorganisms and metazoans to mineral nutrition in tank bromeliads

Author(s):—C. Leroy, J.-F. Carrias, R. Cereghino & B. Corbara in Benko-Iseppon, A.M.; Alves, M. & Louzada, R. (2015) An overview and abstracts of the First World Congress on Bromeliaceae Evolution. Rodriguésia 66(2): A1-A66.

Publication:— (2015).

Abstract:—One critical challenge for plants is to maintain an adequate nutrient supply under fluctuating environmental conditions. This is particularly true for epiphytic species that have limited or no access to the pedosphere and often live in harsh climatic conditions. Bromeliads have evolved remarkable adaptations (e.g., terrestrial or epiphytic and tank or atmospheric forms, and C3 or CAM photosynthetic pathways) that facilitate water and inorganic and organic nitrogen (N) uptake to cope with their various, diverse and distinct habitats. We provide evidence, by the use of N-stable isotope, that bromeliads have also evolved multi-faceted nutritional strategies that allow them to respond to fluctuations in natural N supply. Bromeliads differ significantly in their reliance on insect-assisted nutrient supply, and there is a clear increase in insect-assisted N supply for tank-bromeliads compared to atmospheric ones. Bromeliads have developed mutualistic associations with many different and functionally diverse terrestrial and aquatic microorganisms that contribute substantially to their mineral nutrition and, thus, their fitness and survival. In addition to the autonomous pathway, the main strategies used, separately or combined, by bromeliads to acquire nutrients are bacterial and fungal mi-crobiota-assisted N, digestive mutualisms, and protocarnivorous and myrmecotrophic pathways. We believe that further research is needed to study the nutritional ecology of bromeliads, and, more generally, epiphytic taxa, especially in a context of climate change.

Keywords:—Insect-assisted Nutrients; Digestive Mutualism; Myrmecotrophy.