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Title: Genome-centric view of carbon processing in thawing permafrost

Journal Article · · Nature (London)
ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [1];  [1];  [1]; ORCiD logo [2]; ORCiD logo [3]; ORCiD logo [1];  [1]; ORCiD logo [4]; ORCiD logo [5];  [5]; ORCiD logo [6]; ORCiD logo [6];  [7];  [7];  [5];  [8]; ORCiD logo [9]; ORCiD logo [3]; ORCiD logo [1]
  1. Univ. of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD (Australia)
  2. The Ohio State Univ., Columbus, OH (United States); Univ. of California, Davis, CA (United States)
  3. The Ohio State Univ., Columbus, OH (United States)
  4. Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY (United States)
  5. Florida State Univ., Tallahassee, FL (United States)
  6. Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
  7. Univ. of New Hampshire, Durham, NH (United States)
  8. Stockholm Univ., Stockholm (Sweden)
  9. 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)
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
Journal Information:
Nature (London), Vol. 560, Issue 7716; Related Information: Raw metagenome and metatranscriptomes from the study: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bioproject/?term=PRJNA386568; ISSN 0028-0836
Publisher:
Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 207 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Mediterranean grassland soil C–N compound turnover is dependent on rainfall and depth, and is mediated by genomically divergent microorganisms journal May 2019
Climate change microbiology — problems and perspectives journal May 2019
Scientists’ warning to humanity: microorganisms and climate change journal June 2019
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Ontogenic succession of thermokarst thaw ponds is linked to dissolved organic matter quality and microbial degradation potential journal January 2020
Host-linked soil viral ecology along a permafrost thaw gradient journal July 2018
The known and the unknown in soil microbial ecology journal January 2019
Long-read based de novo assembly of low-complexity metagenome samples results in finished genomes and reveals insights into strain diversity and an active phage system journal June 2019
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Niche differentiation is spatially and temporally regulated in the rhizosphere journal January 2020
Think global, act local: The small-scale environment mainly influences microbial community development and function in lake sediment text January 2020
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