Soil protistology rebooted: 30 fundamental questions to start with

Protists are the most diverse eukaryotes. These microbes are keystone organisms of soil ecosystems and regulate essential processes of soil fertility such as nutrient cycling and plant growth. Despite this, protists have received little scientific attention, especially compared to bacteria, fungi and nematodes in soil studies. Recent methodological advances, particularly in molecular biology techniques, have made the study of soil protists more accessible, and have created a resurgence of interest in soil protistology. This ongoing revolution now enables comprehensive investigations of the structure and functioning of soil protist communities, paving the way to a new era in soil biology. Instead of providing an exhaustive review, we provide a synthesis of research gaps that should be prioritized in future studies of soil protistology to guide this rapidly developing research area. Based on a synthesis of expert opinion we propose 30 key questions covering a broad range of topics including evolution, phylogenetics, functional ecology, macroecology, paleoecology, and methodologies. These questions highlight a diversity of topics that will establish soil protistology as a hub discipline connecting different fundamental and applied fields such as ecology, biogeography, evolution, plant-microbe interactions, agronomy, and conservation biology. We are convinced that soil protistology has the potential to be one of the most exciting frontiers in biology

High-throughput sequencing reveals diverse oomycete communities in oligotrophic peat bog micro-habitat

Oomycete diversity has been generally underestimated, despite their ecological and economic importance. Surveying unexplored natural ecosystems with up-to-date molecular diversity tools can reveal the existence of unsuspected organisms. Here, we have explored the molecular diversity of five microhabitats located in five different oligotrophic peat bogs in the Jura Mountains using a high-throughput sequencing approach (Illumina HiSeq 2500). We found a total of 34 different phylotypes distributed in all major oomycete clades, and comprising sequences affiliated to both well-known phylotypes and members of undescribed, basal clades. Parasitic species, including obligate forms were well-represented, and phylotypes related to highly damaging invasive pathogens (Aphanomyces astaci: X1100 and Saprolegnia parasitica: X1602) were retrieved. Microhabitats differed significantly in their community composition, and many phylotypes were strongly affiliated to free water habitats (pools). Our approach proved effective in screening oomycete diversity in the studied habitat, and could be applied systematically to other environments and other fungal and fungal-like groups.Fil: Singer, David. University of Neuchâte; SuizaFil: Lara, Enrique. University of Neuchâte; SuizaFil: Steciow, Mónica Mirta. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Instituto de Botánica Spegazzini; ArgentinaFil: Seppey, Christophe V.W.. University of Neuchâte; SuizaFil: Paredes, Noelia Ivana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas; ArgentinaFil: Pillonel, Amandine. University of Neuchâte; SuizaFil: Oszako, Tomasz. Forest Research Institute; PoloniaFil: Belbahri, Lassâad. University of Neuchâte; Suiz

Call to restrict neonicotinoids

On 28 April 2018 the European Parliament voted for a complete and permanent ban on all outdoor uses of the three most commonly used neonicotinoid pesticides. With the partial exception of the state of Ontario, Canada, governments elsewhere have failed to take action. Below is a letter, signed by 232 scientists from around the world, urgently calling for global action by policy makers to address this issue