Journal
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Volume 55, Issue 18, Pages 12683-12693Publisher
AMER CHEMICAL SOC
DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.1c00802
Keywords
Arctic; permafrost; active layer; 16S rRNA; metagenome-assembled genome; metabolism
Categories
Funding
- U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Biological and Environmental Research, Genomic Science Program [DE-SC0004902, DE-SC0020369]
- National Science Foundation [DEB-1442262]
- U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) [DE-SC0004902, DE-SC0020369] Funding Source: U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
Ask authors/readers for more resources
The study revealed significant differences in taxonomic composition and function of microbial communities in low-carbon permafrost (PF) and active layer soils. Microbial biodiversity was found to be higher in the active layer compared to PF, and gene abundance varied between the two soil layers.
Approximately 87% of the Arctic consists of low-organic carbon mineral soil, but knowledge of microbial activity in low-carbon permafrost (PF) and active layer soils remains limited. This study investigated the taxonomic composition and genetic potential of microbial communities at contrasting depths of the active layer (5, 35, and 65 cm below surface, bls) and PF (80 cm bls). We showed microbial communities in PF to be taxonomically and functionally different from those in the active layer. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis revealed higher biodiversity in the active layer than in PF, and biodiversity decreased significantly with depth. The reconstructed 91 metagenome-assembled genomes showed that PF was dominated by heterotrophic, fermenting Bacteroidota using nitrite as their main electron acceptor. Prevalent microbes identified in the active layer belonged to bacterial taxa, gaining energy via aerobic respiration. Gene abundance in metagenomes revealed enrichment of genes encoding the plantderived polysaccharide degradation and metabolism of nitrate and sulfate in PF, whereas genes encoding methane/ammonia oxidation, cold-shock protein, and two-component systems were generally more abundant in the active layer, particularly at 5 cm bls. The results of this study deepen our understanding of the low-carbon Arctic soil microbiome and improve prediction of the impacts of thawing PF.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available