Novel biogenic aggregation of moss gemmae on a disappearing African glacier

Jun Uetake; Sota Tanaka; Kosuke Hara; Yukiko Tanabe; Denis Samyn; Hideaki Motoyama; Satoshi Imura; Shiro Kohshima

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0112510

Novel biogenic aggregation of moss gemmae on a disappearing African glacier

PLoS One. 2014 Nov 17;9(11):e112510. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0112510. eCollection 2014.

Authors

Jun Uetake¹, Sota Tanaka², Kosuke Hara³, Yukiko Tanabe⁴, Denis Samyn⁵, Hideaki Motoyama², Satoshi Imura², Shiro Kohshima⁶

Affiliations

¹ Transdisciplinary Research Integration Center, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan; National Institute of Polar Research, Tachikawa, Tokyo, Japan.
² Faculty of Science, Chiba University, Chiba, Chiba, Japan.
³ Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.
⁴ Institute for Advanced Study, Waseda University, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
⁵ Department of Mechanical Engineering, Nagaoka University of Technology, Nagaoka, Nigata, Japan.
⁶ Wildlife Research Center, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan.

Abstract

Tropical regions are not well represented in glacier biology, yet many tropical glaciers are under threat of disappearance due to climate change. Here we report a novel biogenic aggregation at the terminus of a glacier in the Rwenzori Mountains, Uganda. The material was formed by uniseriate protonemal moss gemmae and protonema. Molecular analysis of five genetic markers determined the taxon as Ceratodon purpureus, a cosmopolitan species that is widespread in tropical to polar region. Given optimal growing temperatures of isolate is 20-30 °C, the cold glacier surface might seem unsuitable for this species. However, the cluster of protonema growth reached approximately 10 °C in daytime, suggesting that diurnal increase in temperature may contribute to the moss's ability to inhabit the glacier surface. The aggregation is also a habitat for microorganisms, and the disappearance of this glacier will lead to the loss of this unique ecosystem.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Bryophyta* / classification
Bryophyta* / genetics
Bryophyta* / metabolism
Ecosystem*
Geography
Ice Cover*
Phenotype
Photosynthesis
Uganda

Grants and funding

This study was partially supported by Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A) No. 22241005 and by Proposal for Seeds of Transdisciplinary Research from the Transdisciplinary Research Integration Center, and by an NIPR publication subsidy. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.