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Microbial Nitrogen Fixation in the Intestine of Tipulidae Tipula maxima Larvae

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Abstract

Nitrogen-fixing activity of microorganisms in the intestines of Crane fly (Tipulidae) larvae and their influence on the processes of microbial nitrogen fixation in soil have been studied. Two independent methods have shown high rates of nitrogenase activity in the digestive tract of larvae, which is determined mainly by transit nitrogen-fixing microorganisms. Nitrogen fixers actively developing in the intestines of larvae stimulate a sharp increase in nitrogenase activity in the soil: after 3 months of incubation, the activity increases eightfold; it can contribute to the accumulation of nitrogen in the habitats of the larvae.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors are grateful to A.V. Tiunov for his help in isotopic analysis at the Center for Collective Use “Instrumental Techniques in Ecology,” Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences.

Funding

This work was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, project no. 16-04-01864a.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Soil Science Faculty, Moscow State University, 119991, Moscow, Russia

    N. V. Kostina & A. N. Chernysheva

  2. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, 119071, Moscow, Russia

    N. V. Kostina, M. V. Vecherskii & T. A. Kuznetsova

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  1. N. V. Kostina
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  2. A. N. Chernysheva
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  3. M. V. Vecherskii
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  4. T. A. Kuznetsova
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Correspondence to N. V. Kostina.

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Conflict of interests. The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Statement on the welfare of animals. All applicable international, national, and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed.

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Translated by E. Makeeva

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Kostina, N.V., Chernysheva, A.N., Vecherskii, M.V. et al. Microbial Nitrogen Fixation in the Intestine of Tipulidae Tipula maxima Larvae. Biol Bull Russ Acad Sci 47, 35–39 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1062359020010069

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S1062359020010069

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