Ecological stoichiometry drives the evolution of soil nematode life history traits. (February 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Xue, Xia; Adhikari, Bishwo N.; Ball, Becky A.; Barrett, John E.; Miao, Jinxin; Perkes, Ammon; Martin, Mac; Simmons, Breana L.; Wall, Diana H.; Adams, Byron J.
• Is Part Of: Soil biology and biochemistry. Volume 177(2023)
• Publication Date: 2023-02
• Subjects: Elemental stoichiometry -- Growth rate hypothesis -- Life history theory -- Molecular evolution -- Nematoda -- rRNA; Soil biochemistry -- Periodicals; Soil biology -- Periodicals; Sols -- Biochimie -- Périodiques; Sols -- Biologie -- Périodiques; Sols -- Microbiologie -- Périodiques; Bodembiologie; Biochemie; 631.46
• DOI: 10.1016/j.soilbio.2022.108891
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0038-0717

Abstract

Abstract: Ecological stoichiometry is a useful theoretical framework for understanding the sources and controls on nutrient availability that structure the composition and diversity of biotic communities. One such relationship is that organismal development rate is positively linked to cellular Phosphorus (P). We hypothesized that P availability, relative to other nutrients, e.g., nitrogen and carbon, would drive the evolution of traits associated with organismal growth and development. We examined the effects of P availability both i n situ and in vitro, on free-living soil nematodes. We found that P-deficient environments produce predictable changes in the ecology and evolution of important life history traits. Our results identify altered rRNA gene copy number and subsequent changes in gene expression and protein synthesis as mechanisms by which P-deficiency influences these traits. These findings have important implications for explaining soil ecological and evolutionary patterns across multiple levels of organization, including the structure and functioning of organisms, populations, communities, and ecosystems. Graphical abstract: Image 1 Highlights: Geological landscape legacies result in variation in soil CNP-content. Soil P availability contributes to genetic variation in organismal P acquisition. Soil P drives rRNA gene copy number in soil nematodes P. murrayi and S. lindsayae . Soil P drives life history evolution via changes in gene copy number and expression. Soil P drives the evolution of ecological communities in predictable ways.