Microbiology, regulation and ecological relevance of N2O production by earthworms
DFG Dr310/2-1
From 01/2002 to 12/2007Principal Investigator: Harold L. Drake, Andreas Schramm
Staff: Marcus A. Horn
Grant: DR 310/2-1 Microbiology, regulation and ecological relevance of N2O production by earthworms
Soils contribute with 60-70% to the global annual emissions of the
greenhouse gas N2O. Earthworms constitute the dominant soil
fauna in terms of biomass in many soils and emit substantial amounts of
N2O by microbial processes in their guts. Microbial
communities that are associated with such N2O emission,
mechanisms, regulation, and the quantitative importance of
N2O-emissions on ecosystem level are unknown. Thus, the main
objectives of this project are to (1) identify and localize
N2O-producing microorganisms with classical and molecular
methods (isolation, functional gene analysis, fluorescence in situ
hybridization), (2) elucidate processes associated with N2O
production and their regulation in the earthworm gut (utilizing
microsensors and 15N-analyses), in microcosms, and with
selected isolates, and (3) estimate earthworm-derived
N2O-emissions of forest, field, and meadow sites over the year.
Homepage: http://www.bayceer.uni-bayreuth.de/mik/de/top/gru/html.php?id_obj=47668
List of publications of this Project
| Drake, HL; Horn, MA: As the worm turns: the earthworm gut as a transient habitat for soil microbial biomes, Ann. Rev. Microbiol., 61, 169-189 (2007) -- Details |
| Drake, HL; Schramm, A; Horn, MA: Earthworm gut microbial biomes: their importance to soil microorganisms, denitrification, and the terrestrial production of the greenhouse gas N2O. In: König, H, Varma, A.(eds.) Intestinal Microorganisms of Termites and other Invertebrates, Springer Verlag, New York, 65-87 (2006) -- Details |
| Horn, MA; Mertel, R; Kästner, M; Gehre, M; Drake, HL: In vivo emission of dinitrogen by earthworms via denitrifying bacteria in the gut, Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 72(2), 1013-1018 (2006) -- Details |
| Horn, MA; Drake, HL; Schramm, A: Nitrous oxide reductase genes (nosZ) of denitrifying microbial populations in soil and the earthworm gut are phylogenetically similar, Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 72(2), 1019-1026 (2006) -- Details |
| Drake, HL; Horn, MA: Earthworms as a transient heaven for terrestrial denitrifying microbes: a review, Engineering in Life Sciences, 6, 261-265 (2006) |
| Horn, MA; Ihssen, J; Matthies, C; Schramm, A; Acker, G; Drake, HL: Dechloromonas denitrificans sp. nov., Flavobacterium denitrificans sp. nov., Paenibacillus anaericanus sp. nov., and Paenibacillus terrae strain MH72, N2O-producing bacteria isolated from the gut of the earthworm Aporrectodea caliginosa, International Journal of systematic and evolutionary microbiology, 55, 1255-1265 (2005) -- Details |
| Ihssen, J; Horn, MA; Gößner, A; Matthies, C; Schramm, A; Drake, HL: N |
| Horn, MA; Schramm, A; Drake, HL: The Earthworm Gut: An Ideal Habitat for Ingested N |