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Harvard Forest Data Archive

HF445

Candida Pseudoglaebosa Ecology in Sarracenia Purpurea Pitcher Plants at Harvard Forest since 2021

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Data

Overview

  • Lead: Primrose Boynton
  • Investigators: Samer El-Khatib, Rosie Franklin, Christopher Klein
  • Contact: Information Manager
  • Start date: 2021
  • End date: 2023
  • Status: ongoing
  • Location: Tom Swamp Tract (Harvard Forest)
  • Latitude: +42.5 degrees
  • Longitude: -72.2 degrees
  • Elevation: 240 meter
  • Datum: WGS84
  • Taxa: Candida pseudoglaebosa, Sarracenia purpurea
  • Release date: 2024
  • Language: English
  • EML file: knb-lter-hfr.445.1
  • DOI: digital object identifier
  • EDI: data package
  • DataONE: data package
  • Related links:
  • Study type: short-term measurement
  • Research topic: biodiversity studies
  • LTER core area: population studies
  • Keywords: bogs, carnivorous plants, community composition, evolution, fungi, microbes
  • Abstract:

    Fungi and bacteria are common members of the microbiomes of carnivorous plants. In the pitcher plant Sarracenia purpurea these microorganisms enter carnivorous pitchers shortly after pitchers develop, and may be relevant for pitcher functioning. We are sampling pitchers repeatedly over several years to better understand the culturable diversity in this habitat, with a focus on the common pitcher yeast Candida pseudoglaebosa and fungi that have the potential to interact with it.

    C. pseudoglaebosa dominates pitcher plants by arriving early in pitchers, and we are interested in how this yeast’s populations change over time and in response to other pitcher microorganisms. Between 2021 and 2023, we collected pitcher water from Tom Swamp in Harvard Forest and cultured 118 yeast and bacteria colonies from this water. We have found C. pseudoglaebosa and some other yeasts (Papiliotrema, Rhodotorula, and Sporidiobolus); microbial identification is ongoing. We are planning to investigate changes in C. pseudoglaebosa genetic diversity and changes in C. pseudoglaebosa interactions with other pitcher microorganisms over time.

  • Methods:

    We visited Tom Swamp in the summers of 2021, 2022, and 2023 to collect microbial cultures from S. purpurea pitchers. Pitchers were chosen haphazardly, and approximately 0.5 ml of liquid was removed from each pitcher with a sterile pipette and transported to the laboratory. We then diluted samples with sterile water and spread colonies onto pitcher plant microbe isolation medium (0.5% yeast extract and 2% agar). Antibiotics (50 µg/ml ampicillin, streptomycin, and penicillin) were added to the pitcher plant microbe isolation medium in 2021 but not 2023. After approximately one week, isolated colonies were picked and transferred to fresh medium without antibiotics; cultures were stored long-term in 20% glycerol at -80 °C. Yeast colonies were identified by sequencing the Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) region of ribosomal RNA-coding DNA using the ITS1/ITS4 primer pair.

  • Organization: Harvard Forest. 324 North Main Street, Petersham, MA 01366, USA. Phone (978) 724-3302. Fax (978) 724-3595.

  • Project: The Harvard Forest Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) program examines ecological dynamics in the New England region resulting from natural disturbances, environmental change, and human impacts. (ROR).

  • Funding: National Science Foundation LTER grants: DEB-8811764, DEB-9411975, DEB-0080592, DEB-0620443, DEB-1237491, DEB-1832210. Other funding: Wheaton College Faculty-Student Provost Research fund.

  • Use: This dataset is released to the public under Creative Commons CC0 1.0 (No Rights Reserved). Please keep the dataset creators informed of any plans to use the dataset. Consultation with the original investigators is strongly encouraged. Publications and data products that make use of the dataset should include proper acknowledgement.

  • License: Creative Commons Zero v1.0 Universal (CC0-1.0)

  • Citation: Boynton P. 2024. Candida Pseudoglaebosa Ecology in Sarracenia Purpurea Pitcher Plants at Harvard Forest since 2021. Harvard Forest Data Archive: HF445 (v.1). Environmental Data Initiative: https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/d0bc57386a32da55690eba86efbbad69.

Detailed Metadata

hf445-01: microbial sampling data

  1. sampling_date: date of sample collection from pitchers
  2. sampling_year: year of sample collection from pitchers
  3. sampling_month: month of sample collection from pitchers
  4. sampling_day: day of sample collection from pitchers (unit: nominalDay / missing value: NA)
  5. plant: identity of each plant
  6. pitcher: identity of each pitcher
  7. colonies: number of colonies isolated from each sample (unit: dimensionless / missing value: NA)
  8. colonies_identified: number of colonies from each sample for which the Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) region of ribosomal RNA-coding DNA was sequenced (unit: dimensionless / missing value: NA)
  9. taxa_identified: taxa identified using ITS sequences from each sample