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Peer-reviewedCC BYEnvironmental microbiology reports

Height From the Ground and Phytotelm pH Affect Prokaryotic Diversity in Epiphytic Bromeliads.

  • Xaali O'Reilly-Berkeley1,2,3,4,5
  • Thomas D Hughes3,6
  • Hannah Mossman3,5
  • Jennifer K Rowntree3,4,6
  • Richard F Preziosi3,4,5,6
6 affiliations
  1. 1Departament de Biologia Animal, de Biologia Vegetal i d'Ecologia, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain.
  2. 2CREAF, Bellaterra, Spain.
  3. 3Department of Natural Sciences, The Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK.
  4. 4Timburi Cocha Research Station, San José de Payamino, Orellana, Ecuador.
  5. 5Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad, Quito, Pichincha, Ecuador.
  6. 6School of Biological and Marine Sciences, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK.
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Abstract

Tank bromeliads in the neotropics harbour complex communities of invertebrates and even provide food, water and shelter to various vertebrate species. However, few studies have sequenced the microbial communities within epiphytic bromeliad phytotelmata. We sequenced the 16S rRNA subunit extracted from swabs rubbed at the base within the central phytotelm of the epiphytic bromeliads Aechmea hoppii and A. nidularioides. We tested factors that we suspected could influence the alpha diversity and beta-diversity of prokaryotic communities in bromeliads. Height on the tree and size of the bromeliad influenced the alpha-diversity within plants. Height from the ground and pH of the phytotelm explained small proportions of the variation among communities, regardless of whether quantitative or qualitative distances were calculated. We used FAPROTAX to assign taxa to functional groups and found that a complex picture of correlations between function and variables emerged, with height on the tree, pH, plant size and species, forest type and sampling season correlating with different functional groups. This relatively large metabarcoding study of bromeliad phytotelmata prokaryotes contributes to the growing knowledge of these highly diverse and complex systems.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{oreillyberkeley2026height,
  title = {{Height From the Ground and Phytotelm pH Affect Prokaryotic Diversity in Epiphytic Bromeliads.}},
  author = {Xaali O'Reilly-Berkeley and Thomas D Hughes and Hannah Mossman and Jennifer K Rowntree and Richard F Preziosi},
  journal = {Environmental microbiology reports},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.1111/1758-2229.70421},
  url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42908386},
  note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Height From the Ground and Phytotelm pH Affect Prokaryotic Diversity in Epiphytic Bromeliads.
AU  - Xaali O'Reilly-Berkeley
AU  - Thomas D Hughes
AU  - Hannah Mossman
AU  - Jennifer K Rowntree
AU  - Richard F Preziosi
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/01
JO  - Environmental microbiology reports
DO  - 10.1111/1758-2229.70421
UR  - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42908386
AB  - Tank bromeliads in the neotropics harbour complex communities of invertebrates and even provide food, water and shelter to various vertebrate species. However, few studies have sequenced the microbial communities within epiphytic bromeliad phytotelmata. We sequenced the 16S rRNA subunit extracted from swabs rubbed at the base within the central phytotelm of the epiphytic bromeliads Aechmea hoppii and A. nidularioides. We tested factors that we suspected could influence the alpha diversity and beta-diversity of prokaryotic communities in bromeliads. Height on the tree and size of the bromeliad influenced the alpha-diversity within plants. Height from the ground and pH of the phytotelm explained small proportions of the variation among communities, regardless of whether quantitative or qualitative distances were calculated. We used FAPROTAX to assign taxa to functional groups and found that a complex picture of correlations between function and variables emerged, with height on the tree, pH, plant size and species, forest type and sampling season correlating with different functional groups. This relatively large metabarcoding study of bromeliad phytotelmata prokaryotes contributes to the growing knowledge of these highly diverse and complex systems.
SN  - 1758-2229
ER  -