Nitrogen fixation in the stag beetle, Ceruchus piceus (Coleoptera: Lucanidae): could insects contribute more to ecosystem nitrogen budgets than previously thought?
Nitrogen fixation in the stag beetle, Ceruchus piceus (Coleoptera: Lucanidae): could insects contribute more to ecosystem nitrogen budgets than previously thought?
复制标题
DOI：
10.1093/ee/nvad053
复制
发表时间：
2023-07-07
影响因子：
1.7
通讯作者：
Menge，Duncan N. L.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Mifsud，Isobel E. J.;Akana，Palani R.;Menge，Duncan N. L.
氮（N）是所有生物体生长和发育所需的关键营养素，但对许多生物体来说是一种限制性资源。以含氮量低的材料为食的生物，如木材，可能特别容易受到氮的限制。在这项研究中，我们调查了在何种程度上的食木甲虫Ceruchus piceus（Weber）的幼虫利用与固氮细菌的协会，以获得N。我们配对乙炔还原测定光腔衰荡吸收光谱（ARACAS）与15N2孵育，以表征氮固定率在C。青灰色。我们不仅在C. piceus幼虫，但我们计算出的速度是大大高于大多数以前的报告，昆虫固氮。在进行这些测量时，我们发现C.在实验室环境中，白藜芦醇会迅速下降。因此，我们的研究结果表明，以前的研究，通常保持昆虫在实验室长时间之前和测量过程中，可能有系统地低估了昆虫的固氮率。这表明，昆虫内固氮可能比以前认为的更有助于昆虫营养和生态系统规模的N预算。
Nitrogen (N) is a key nutrient required by all living organisms for growth and development, but is a limiting resource for many organisms. Organisms that feed on material with low N content, such as wood, might be particularly prone to N limitation. In this study, we investigated the degree to which the xylophagous larvae of the stag beetleCeruchus piceus(Weber) use associations with N-fixing bacteria to acquire N. We paired acetylene reduction assays by cavity ring-down absorption spectroscopy (ARACAS) with15N2incubations to characterize rates of N fixation withinC. piceus. Not only did we detect significant N fixation activity withinC. piceuslarvae, but we calculated a rate that was substantially higher than most previous reports for N fixation in insects. While taking these measurements, we discovered that N fixation withinC. piceuscan decline rapidly in a lab setting. Consequently, our results demonstrate that previous studies, which commonly keep insects in the lab for long periods of time prior to and during measurement, may have systematically under-reported rates of N fixation in insects. This suggests that within-insect N fixation may contribute more to insect nutrition and ecosystem-scale N budgets than previously thought.