Dataset Information

Distinct Taxonomic and Functional Profiles of the Microbiome Associated With Different Soil Horizons of a Moist Tussock Tundra in Alaska.

ABSTRACT: Permafrost-underlain tundra soils in Northern Hemisphere are one of the largest reservoirs of terrestrial carbon, which are highly sensitive to microbial decomposition due to climate warming. However, knowledge about the taxonomy and functions of microbiome residing in different horizons of permafrost-underlain tundra soils is still limited. Here we compared the taxonomic and functional composition of microbiome between different horizons of soil cores from a moist tussock tundra ecosystem in Council, Alaska, using 16S rRNA gene and shotgun metagenomic sequencing. The composition, diversity, and functions of microbiome varied significantly between soil horizons, with top soil horizon harboring more diverse communities than sub-soil horizons. The vertical gradient in soil physico-chemical parameters were strongly associated with composition of microbial communities across permafrost soil horizons; however, a large fraction of the variation in microbial communities remained unexplained. The genes associated with carbon mineralization were more abundant in top soil horizon, while genes involved in acetogenesis, fermentation, methane metabolism (methanogenesis and methanotrophy), and N cycling were dominant in sub-soil horizons. The results of phylogenetic null modeling analysis showed that stochastic processes strongly influenced the composition of the microbiome in different soil horizons, except the bacterial community composition in top soil horizon, which was largely governed by homogeneous selection. Our study expands the knowledge on the structure and functional potential of microbiome associated with different horizons of permafrost soil, which could be useful in understanding the effects of environmental change on microbial responses in tundra ecosystems.

SUBMITTER: Tripathi BM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6610311 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Distinct Taxonomic and Functional Profiles of the Microbiome Associated With Different Soil Horizons of a Moist Tussock Tundra in Alaska.

Tripathi Binu M BM Kim Hye Min HM Jung Ji Young JY Nam Sungjin S Ju Hyeon Tae HT Kim Mincheol M Lee Yoo Kyung YK

Frontiers in microbiology 20190627

Permafrost-underlain tundra soils in Northern Hemisphere are one of the largest reservoirs of terrestrial carbon, which are highly sensitive to microbial decomposition due to climate warming. However, knowledge about the taxonomy and functions of microbiome residing in different horizons of permafrost-underlain tundra soils is still limited. Here we compared the taxonomic and functional composition of microbiome between different horizons of soil cores from a moist tussock tundra ecosystem in Co ...[more]

PMID: 31316487

Similar Datasets

Project description:Increases in Arctic temperatures have thawed permafrost and accelerated tundra soil microbial activity, releasing greenhouse gases that amplify climate warming. Warming over time has also accelerated shrub encroachment in the tundra, altering plant input abundance and quality, and causing further changes to soil microbial processes. To better understand the effects of increased temperature and the accumulated effects of climate change on soil bacterial activity, we quantified the growth responses of individual bacterial taxa to short-term warming (3 months) and long-term warming (29 years) in moist acidic tussock tundra. Intact soil was assayed in the field for 30 days using 18O-labeled water, from which taxon-specific rates of 18O incorporation into DNA were estimated as a proxy for growth. Experimental treatments warmed the soil by approximately 1.5°C. Short-term warming increased average relative growth rates across the assemblage by 36%, and this increase was attributable to emergent growing taxa not detected in other treatments that doubled the diversity of growing bacteria. However, long-term warming increased average relative growth rates by 151%, and this was largely attributable to taxa that co-occurred in the ambient temperature controls. There was also coherence in relative growth rates within broad taxonomic levels with orders tending to have similar growth rates in all treatments. Growth responses tended to be neutral in short-term warming and positive in long-term warming for most taxa and phylogenetic groups co-occurring across treatments regardless of phylogeny. Taken together, growing bacteria responded distinctly to short-term and long-term warming, and taxa growing in each treatment exhibited deep phylogenetic organization. IMPORTANCE Soil carbon stocks in the tundra and underlying permafrost have become increasingly vulnerable to microbial decomposition due to climate change. The microbial responses to Arctic warming must be understood in order to predict the effects of future microbial activity on carbon balance in a warming Arctic. In response to our warming treatments, tundra soil bacteria grew faster, consistent with increased rates of decomposition and carbon flux to the atmosphere. Our findings suggest that bacterial growth rates may continue to increase in the coming decades as faster growth is driven by the accumulated effects of long-term warming. Observed phylogenetic organization of bacterial growth rates may also permit taxonomy-based predictions of bacterial responses to climate change and inclusion into ecosystem models.

Dataset Information

Distinct Taxonomic and Functional Profiles of the Microbiome Associated With Different Soil Horizons of a Moist Tussock Tundra in Alaska.

Publications

Distinct Taxonomic and Functional Profiles of the Microbiome Associated With Different Soil Horizons of a Moist Tussock Tundra in Alaska.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets