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Genome-centric view of carbon processing in thawing permafrost

Journal Article · · Nature (London)
 [1];  [2];  [2];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [2];  [2];  [5];  [6];  [6];  [7];  [7];  [8];  [8];  [6];  [9];  [10];  [4];  [2]
  1. Univ. of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD (Australia); The University of Queensland
  2. Univ. of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD (Australia)
  3. The Ohio State Univ., Columbus, OH (United States); Univ. of California, Davis, CA (United States)
  4. The Ohio State Univ., Columbus, OH (United States)
  5. Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY (United States)
  6. Florida State Univ., Tallahassee, FL (United States)
  7. Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
  8. Univ. of New Hampshire, Durham, NH (United States)
  9. Stockholm Univ., Stockholm (Sweden)
  10. Univ. of Arizona, Tucson, AZ (United States)

As global temperatures rise, large amounts of carbon sequestered in permafrost are becoming available for microbial degradation. Accurate prediction of carbon gas emissions from thawing permafrost is limited by our understanding of these microbial communities. Here we use metagenomic sequencing of 214 samples from a permafrost thaw gradient to recover 1,529 metagenome-assembled genomes, including many from phyla with poor genomic representation. These genomes reflect the diversity of this complex ecosystem, with genus-level representatives for more than sixty per cent of the community. Meta-omic analysis revealed key populations involved in the degradation of organic matter, including bacteria whose genomes encode a previously undescribed fungal pathway for xylose degradation. Microbial and geochemical data highlight lineages that correlate with the production of greenhouse gases and indicate novel syntrophic relationships. Lastly, our findings link changing biogeochemistry to specific microbial lineages involved in carbon processing, and provide key information for predicting the effects of climate change on permafrost systems.

Research Organization:
Univ. of Arizona, Tucson, AZ (United States); The Ohio State Univ., Columbus, OH (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER) (SC-23)
Contributing Organization:
Univ. of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD (Australia). Australian Centre for Ecogenomics, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0010580; SC0016440
OSTI ID:
1481643
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1503613
Journal Information:
Nature (London), Journal Name: Nature (London) Journal Issue: 7716 Vol. 560; ISSN 0028-0836
Publisher:
Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Distinct Drivers of Core and Accessory Components of Soil Microbial Community Functional Diversity under Environmental Changes journal October 2019
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Consistent Metagenome-Derived Metrics Verify and Delineate Bacterial Species Boundaries journal January 2020
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Distinct Taxonomic and Functional Profiles of the Microbiome Associated With Different Soil Horizons of a Moist Tussock Tundra in Alaska journal June 2019
Contrasting Winter Versus Summer Microbial Communities and Metabolic Functions in a Permafrost Thaw Lake journal July 2019
Evolutionary Implications of Anoxygenic Phototrophy in the Bacterial Phylum Candidatus Eremiobacterota (WPS-2) journal July 2019
Implication of Viral Infections for Greenhouse Gas Dynamics in Freshwater Wetlands: Challenges and Perspectives journal August 2019
Microbial Community Structure and Methane Cycling Potential along a Thermokarst Pond-Peatland Continuum journal October 2019
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Additional file 3 of Genomic reconstruction of fossil and living microorganisms in ancient Siberian permafrost dataset January 2021
Additional file 4 of Genomic reconstruction of fossil and living microorganisms in ancient Siberian permafrost dataset January 2021
Additional file 5 of Genomic reconstruction of fossil and living microorganisms in ancient Siberian permafrost dataset January 2021
Additional file 7 of Genomic reconstruction of fossil and living microorganisms in ancient Siberian permafrost dataset January 2021
Additional file 8 of Genomic reconstruction of fossil and living microorganisms in ancient Siberian permafrost dataset January 2021
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