Shifts of tundra bacterial and archaeal communities along a permafrost thaw gradient in A laska
- Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology Institute for Environmental Genomics University of Oklahoma Norman OK USA
- Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology Institute for Environmental Genomics University of Oklahoma Norman OK USA, College of Resource and Environment Sichuan Agricultural University Chengdu Sichuan China
- Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology Institute for Environmental Genomics University of Oklahoma Norman OK USA, School of Mineral Processing and Bioengineering Central South University Changsha Hunan China
- Department of Biology University of Florida Gainesville FL USA
- Center for Microbial Ecology Michigan State University East Lansing MI USA
- Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology Institute for Environmental Genomics University of Oklahoma Norman OK USA, Earth Sciences Division Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Berkeley CA USA, State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control School of Environment Tsinghua University Beijing China
Abstract Understanding the response of permafrost microbial communities to climate warming is crucial for evaluating ecosystem feedbacks to global change. This study investigated soil bacterial and archaeal communities by Illumina MiSeq sequencing of 16S r RNA gene amplicons across a permafrost thaw gradient at different depths in Alaska with thaw progression for over three decades. Over 4.6 million passing 16S r RNA gene sequences were obtained from a total of 97 samples, corresponding to 61 known classes and 470 genera. Soil depth and the associated soil physical–chemical properties had predominant impacts on the diversity and composition of the microbial communities. Both richness and evenness of the microbial communities decreased with soil depth. Acidobacteria, Verrucomicrobia, Alpha‐ and Gamma‐Proteobacteria dominated the microbial communities in the upper horizon, whereas abundances of Bacteroidetes, Delta‐Proteobacteria and Firmicutes increased towards deeper soils. Effects of thaw progression were absent in microbial communities in the near‐surface organic soil, probably due to greater temperature variation. Thaw progression decreased the abundances of the majority of the associated taxa in the lower organic soil, but increased the abundances of those in the mineral soil, including groups potentially involved in recalcitrant C degradation (Actinomycetales, Chitinophaga , etc.). The changes in microbial communities may be related to altered soil C sources by thaw progression. Collectively, this study revealed different impacts of thaw in the organic and mineral horizons and suggests the importance of studying both the upper and deeper soils while evaluating microbial responses to permafrost thaw.
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- Grant/Contract Number:
- DE‐FOA‐0000866; FOA-0000866
- OSTI ID:
- 1400676
- Journal Information:
- Molecular Ecology, Journal Name: Molecular Ecology Vol. 24 Journal Issue: 1; ISSN 0962-1083
- Publisher:
- Wiley-BlackwellCopyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United Kingdom
- Language:
- English
Web of Science
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