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Title: A genomic perspective on stoichiometric regulation of soil carbon cycling

Journal Article · · The ISME Journal
 [1];  [2];  [3]; ORCiD logo [4]
  1. USDOE Joint Genome Institute (JGI), Walnut Creek, CA (United States)
  2. Univ. of California, Davis, CA (United States); Clemson Univ., Clemson, SC (United States)
  3. Univ. of California, Davis, CA (United States)
  4. USDOE Joint Genome Institute (JGI), Walnut Creek, CA (United States); Univ. of California, Merced, CA (United States)

Similar to plant growth, soil carbon (C) cycling is constrained by the availability of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). We hypothesized that stoichiometric control over soil microbial C cycling may be shaped by functional guilds with distinct nutrient substrate preferences. Across a series of rice fields spanning 5-25% soil C (N:P from 1:12 to 1:70), C turnover was best correlated with P availability and increased with experimental N addition only in lower C (mineral) soils with N:P-1/216. Microbial community membership also varied with soil stoichiometry but not with N addition. Shotgun metagenome data revealed changes in community functions with increasing C turnover, including a shift from aromatic C to carbohydrate utilization accompanied by lower N uptake and P scavenging. Similar patterns of C, N and P acquisition, along with higher ribosomal RNA operon copy numbers, distinguished that microbial taxa positively correlated with C turnover. Considering such tradeoffs in genomic resource allocation patterns among taxa strengthened correlations between microbial community composition and C cycling, suggesting simplified guilds amenable to ecosystem modeling. Our results suggest that patterns of soil C turnover may reflect community-dependent metabolic shifts driven by resource allocation strategies, analogous to growth rate-stoichiometry coupling in animal and plant communities.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER). Biological Systems Science Division
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-05CH11231
OSTI ID:
1482526
Journal Information:
The ISME Journal, Vol. 11, Issue 12; ISSN 1751-7362
Publisher:
Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 78 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Advancements in Microbial Genome Sequencing and Microbial Community Characterization book January 2019
Comparative Genomics of Nitrogen Cycling Pathways in Bacteria and Archaea journal August 2018
Effects of parent material on soil microbial biomass carbon and basal respiration within young afforested areas journal December 2018
Straw input can parallelly influence the bacterial and chemical characteristics of maize rhizosphere journal January 2020
Constraining Carbon and Nutrient Flows in Soil With Ecological Stoichiometry journal October 2019
Shrub Encroachment Shapes Soil Nutrient Concentration, Stoichiometry and Carbon Storage in an Abandoned Subalpine Grassland journal March 2019
Cowpi: A Rumen Microbiome Focussed Version Of The Picrust Functional Inference Software text January 2018
Cowpi: A Rumen Microbiome Focussed Version Of The Picrust Functional Inference Software text January 2018
Constraining carbon and nutrient flows in soil with ecological stoichiometry text January 2019
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Distinct microbial communities alter litter decomposition rates in a fertilized coastal plain wetland journal June 2021
Multi 'omics comparison reveals metabolome biochemistry, not microbiome composition or gene expression, corresponds to elevated biogeochemical function in the hyporheic zone journal November 2018
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CowPI: A Rumen Microbiome Focussed Version of the PICRUSt Functional Inference Software journal May 2018
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Rhizosphere Bacterial Community Structure and Predicted Functional Analysis in the Water-Level Fluctuation Zone of the Danjiangkou Reservoir in China During the Dry Period journal February 2020

Figures / Tables (8)