Differences in substrate use linked to divergent carbon flow during litter decomposition. Issue 8 (6th July 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Albright, Michaeline B N; Thompson, Jaron; Kroeger, Marie E; Johansen, Renee; Ulrich, Danielle E M; Gallegos-Graves, La Verne; Munsky, Brian; Dunbar, John
• Is Part Of: FEMS microbiology ecology. Volume 96:Issue 8(2020)
• Publication Date: 2020-07-06
• Subjects: soil -- carbon cycling -- microbiome -- dissolved organic carbon -- carbon dioxide -- physiology -- effect traits -- machine learning -- metatranscriptome -- oligotrophs -- fungivores -- bacteriovores; Microbial ecology -- Periodicals; Microbiology -- Periodicals; 579.17
• DOI: 10.1093/femsec/fiaa135
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0168-6496

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Discovering widespread microbial processes that create variation in soil carbon (C) cycling within ecosystems may improve soil C modeling. Toward this end, we screened 206 soil communities decomposing plant litter in a common garden microcosm environment and examined features linked to divergent patterns of C flow. C flow was measured as carbon dioxide (CO2 ) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) from 44-days of litter decomposition. Two large groups of microbial communities representing 'high' and 'low' DOC phenotypes from original soil and 44-day microcosm samples were down-selected for fungal and bacterial profiling. Metatranscriptomes were also sequenced from a smaller subset of communities in each group. The two groups exhibited differences in average rate of CO2 production, demonstrating that the divergent patterns of C flow arose from innate functional constraints on C metabolism, not a time-dependent artefact. To infer functional constraints, we identified features – traits at the organism, pathway or gene level – linked to the high and low DOC phenotypes using RNA-Seq approaches and machine learning approaches. Substrate use differed across the high and low DOC phenotypes. Additional features suggested that divergent patterns of C flow may be driven in part by differences in organism interactions that affect DOC abundance directly or indirectly by controlling community structure. Abstract : Differences in substrate use and microorganism interactions are linked to changes in carbon fate during plant litter decomposition.