Special Issue
Advances in Environmental Health and Toxicology
Guest Editor: Editorial Team — Journal of Biomedical Research & Environmental Sciences
Submission
Covid-19 Research
Safety Profile of COVID-19 Vaccines: Retrospective Analysis of Short, Medium, and Long-Term Side Effects: The Military Hospital Experience – Read more Evaluating the Efficacy of Different SARS-Cov-2 Drug Targets Using the Topo-Geometrical Superposition Algorithm, Molecular Docking and Chemical Reactivity Frameworks – Read more Preventing COVID-19 Infection by Complementary Medicine and Oral Health – Read more Analysis of Body Temperature in Patients with Trauma Visiting a Local Emergency Medical Center during the SARS-CoV-2 Outbreak – Read more N95 Respirator Fit Testing Experience during the Pandemic at a Singapore Tertiary Health Institution: Streamlining Workflow and Improving Respirator Fit Rate – Read more COVID-19 is an Amplifier of Social Inequalities Structural Violence against Students with Special Learning Needs and Low Socio-Economic Status – Read more Interaction between Chronic Influenza and COVID-19: Novel Aspects of Immune System Combat – Read more Daily Life, Fear of COVID-19 and Social Support in the Older Adults in Home Isolation: A Cross-Sectional Study – Read more The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Cardiovascular Diseases in Brazil – Read more Diversity of Non-Influenza Respiratory Viruses Associated with Influenza-Like Illness during 2009 pre and pandemic periods in Sao Paulo, Brazil, a Historical Overview – Read more Cardiovascular Complications of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) in Adults – Read more Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on the Development of Childrens Executive Functions Implications for School-Based Interventions – Read more The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Youth Education – Read more Association between Dietary Habits, Lifestyle and Migraine Attacks During Social Isolation in the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review of Observational Studies – Read more The Brazilian Increase in Cases of Lung Cancer and COVID-19, Can They be related? – Read more The Possible Therapeutic Application of CO on COVID-19 – Read more Planetary View of COVID Impact vs. IQ & PISA Rank as National Level of Intelligence – Read more Electrophysiological Study in a Patient with Visual Deficit after Severe Coronavirus 2 Pneumonia – Read more A Presentation of Analyses of COVID-19 Vaccine Samples, Blood Samples, Urine Samples, Foot Bath Samples, Sitz Bath Samples, and Skin-Extract Samples – Read more Is Anosmia-Ageusia in COVID-19 Patients Associated with Neuro-Philic Virus Mutant and Mild Respiratory Involvement? – Read more
Home/ All Articles/ Microbial Factors May Contribute to the Persistence of Australian Fairy Circles

Abstract & Article Details

Research Article • Vol.5, Issue 1 • ISSN: 2766-2276 • Open Access • CC BY 4.0

Open Access Research Article Vol.5, Issue 1 January 13, 2024

Microbial Factors May Contribute to the Persistence of Australian Fairy Circles

DOI: 10.37871/jbres1869
Authors
Liron Klipcan, Nina A Kamennaya, Naw Than Than Aye, Ruth Van-Oss-Pinhasi, Ehud Meron, Shmuel Assouline and Hezi Yizhaq*

Abstract

Fairy Circles (FCs) are roughly circular, spatially periodic barren patches occurring both along the southwestern African coast, spanning the Namib Desert (NFCs), and in the Pilbara region of Western Australia (AFCs). The origin of both NFC and AFC patterns is still debatable and a subject of ongoing research. Recently, it was argued that pathogenic soil microbes may contribute to ring formation of the Triodia basedowii grass which is the same grass species that forms the AFCs. We have analyzed, under controlled laboratory conditions, soil samples taken from different parts of AFCs (center, periphery and m3atrix) for microbiological activities by Lettuce germination experiments under different manipulations. In seven different circles, out of an average of 13, root lengths of germinated seeds were strongly inhibited in the samples taken from the center, and to a lesser extent, in the samples taken from the periphery and the matrix. Quantitative analyses of the soil microbial community from the FC center found no support to the hypothesis that phytotoxic effect was caused by soil crust cyanobacteria due their low abundance. However, in soil of the FCs it identified both heterotrophic bacteria and fungi that may contribute to the phytotoxic effect. Although our study was not done with seeds of Triodia basedowii it supports the idea that microbial activities in the soil may contribute to AFC persistence by inhibiting plant germination and development in the bare soil gaps in addition to the physical soil crusts resulting from weathering. This suggests that negative plant-soil feedback can act in concert with the main driver mechanism of the AFCs, the scale-dependent plant-water feedback.

Research Topics

Get email alerts when new articles are published in these topics Subscribe for Alerts

How to Cite

Liron Klipcan, Nina A Kamennaya, Naw Than Than Aye, Ruth Van-Oss-Pinhasi, Ehud Meron, Shmuel Assouline and Hezi Yizhaq* (2024). Microbial Factors May Contribute to the Persistence of Australian Fairy Circles. Journal of Biomedical Research & Environmental Sciences, 5(1). https://doi.org/10.37871/jbres1869

Article Information

JournalJournal of Biomedical Research & Environmental Sciences (JBRES)
ISSN2766-2276
DOI DOI 10.37871/jbres1869
Volume / IssueVol. 5, Issue 1
ReceivedDecember 19, 2023
AcceptedJanuary 9, 2024
PublishedJanuary 13, 2024
Article TypeResearch Article
Pages033-043
LicenseCC BY 4.0 — Open Access
PublisherSciRes Literature LLC, Sheridan, WY, USA
LanguageEnglish
Creative Commons BY 4.0

Published under CC BY 4.0 — free to share, copy, adapt, and redistribute with attribution.

Certificate of Publication

Certificate of Publication — Microbial Factors May Contribute to the Persistence of Australian Fairy Circles

Certificate verifies that this article was peer-reviewed and published in the Journal of Biomedical Research & Environmental Sciences.

Publish with JBRES — Peer-reviewed, multidisciplinary Open Access with rigorous double-blind review, CrossRef DOI, and global visibility.
Double-Blind CrossRef DOI Discoverable