Dataset Information

Microbial environmental feedbacks and the evolution of soil organic matter

ABSTRACT: More than two thirds of organic carbon stored in terrestrial ecosystems is contained in soil organic matter (SOM). The residence time of SOM is strongly dictated by the physical and biological properties of soil, including the formation of soil aggregates and the binding of OM to the surface of soil minerals. Both mechanisms protect otherwise available C from microbial (fungal, bacterial and archaeal) catabolism. However, our emerging conceptual understanding of SOM stabilization highlights the role anabolic metabolisms play in the formation of SOM from microbial necromass and metabolic byproducts, and the propensity of certain functional groups to bind to the surface of minerals. Notably, microbially derived SOM containing phosphoric or nitrogenous (e.g., aliphatic or amine) functional groups, showed preferential binding to mineral surfaces, and hence, enhanced stabilization of OM compounds in soils. Stabilizing the C cycle remains a social imperative. Bridging this critical knowledge gap is dependent on our elucidating the traits, mechanisms and drivers dictating the production of diverse biochemical compounds and the factors determining the residence time of these compounds under perturbation. This dataset aims to improve mechanistic understanding of the pathways and processes leading to the production of microbial SOM, which currently limits our capability to predict how these complex ecosystems will respond to pulse or press disturbances anticipated under a changing climate. The work (proposal:https://doi.org/10.46936/10.25585/60001233) conducted by the U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (https://ror.org/04xm1d337), a DOE Office of Science User Facility, is supported by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy operated under Contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231.

INSTRUMENT(S): Q Exactive

ORGANISM(S): Soil Microbiome

SUBMITTER: Nicholas Bouskill