Unearthing Shifts in Microbial Communities Across a Soil Disturbance Gradient
Permafrost, an important source of soil disturbance, is particularly vulnerable to climate change in Alaska where 85% of the land is underlained with discontinuous permafrost. Boreal forests, home to plants integral to subsistence diets of many Alaska Native communities, are not immune to the effect...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:8c73998cee0745109f47a16928908f33 2023-05-15T15:13:32+02:00 Unearthing Shifts in Microbial Communities Across a Soil Disturbance Gradient Taylor J. Seitz Ursel M. E. Schütte Devin M. Drown 2022-05-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2022.781051 https://doaj.org/article/8c73998cee0745109f47a16928908f33 EN eng Frontiers Media S.A. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2022.781051/full https://doaj.org/toc/1664-302X 1664-302X doi:10.3389/fmicb.2022.781051 https://doaj.org/article/8c73998cee0745109f47a16928908f33 Frontiers in Microbiology, Vol 13 (2022) soil disturbance microbiome boreal forest community function climate change Microbiology QR1-502 article 2022 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2022.781051 2022-12-31T02:50:45Z Permafrost, an important source of soil disturbance, is particularly vulnerable to climate change in Alaska where 85% of the land is underlained with discontinuous permafrost. Boreal forests, home to plants integral to subsistence diets of many Alaska Native communities, are not immune to the effects of climate change. Soil disturbance events, such as permafrost thaw, wildfires, and land use change can influence abiotic conditions, which can then affect active layer soil microbial communities. In a previous study, we found negative effects on boreal plants inoculated with microbes impacted by soil disturbance compared to plants inoculated with microbes from undisturbed soils. Here, we identify key shifts in microbial communities altered by soil disturbance using 16S rRNA gene sequencing and make connections between microbial community changes and previously observed plant growth. Additionally, we identify further community shifts in potential functional mechanisms using long read metagenomics. Across a soil disturbance gradient, microbial communities differ significantly based on the level of soil disturbance. Consistent with the earlier study, the family Acidobacteriaceae, which consists of known plant growth promoters, was abundant in undisturbed soil, but practically absent in most disturbed soil. In contrast, Comamonadaceae, a family with known agricultural pathogens, was overrepresented in most disturbed soil communities compared to undisturbed. Within our metagenomic data, we found that soil disturbance level is associated with differences in microbial community function, including mechanisms potentially involved in plant pathogenicity. These results indicate that a decrease in plant growth can be linked to changes in the microbial community and functional composition driven by soil disturbance and climate change. Together, these results build a genomic understanding of how shifting soil microbiomes may affect plant productivity and ecosystem health as the Arctic warms. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Climate change permafrost Alaska Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Frontiers in Microbiology 13 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
soil disturbance microbiome boreal forest community function climate change Microbiology QR1-502 |
spellingShingle |
soil disturbance microbiome boreal forest community function climate change Microbiology QR1-502 Taylor J. Seitz Ursel M. E. Schütte Devin M. Drown Unearthing Shifts in Microbial Communities Across a Soil Disturbance Gradient |
topic_facet |
soil disturbance microbiome boreal forest community function climate change Microbiology QR1-502 |
description |
Permafrost, an important source of soil disturbance, is particularly vulnerable to climate change in Alaska where 85% of the land is underlained with discontinuous permafrost. Boreal forests, home to plants integral to subsistence diets of many Alaska Native communities, are not immune to the effects of climate change. Soil disturbance events, such as permafrost thaw, wildfires, and land use change can influence abiotic conditions, which can then affect active layer soil microbial communities. In a previous study, we found negative effects on boreal plants inoculated with microbes impacted by soil disturbance compared to plants inoculated with microbes from undisturbed soils. Here, we identify key shifts in microbial communities altered by soil disturbance using 16S rRNA gene sequencing and make connections between microbial community changes and previously observed plant growth. Additionally, we identify further community shifts in potential functional mechanisms using long read metagenomics. Across a soil disturbance gradient, microbial communities differ significantly based on the level of soil disturbance. Consistent with the earlier study, the family Acidobacteriaceae, which consists of known plant growth promoters, was abundant in undisturbed soil, but practically absent in most disturbed soil. In contrast, Comamonadaceae, a family with known agricultural pathogens, was overrepresented in most disturbed soil communities compared to undisturbed. Within our metagenomic data, we found that soil disturbance level is associated with differences in microbial community function, including mechanisms potentially involved in plant pathogenicity. These results indicate that a decrease in plant growth can be linked to changes in the microbial community and functional composition driven by soil disturbance and climate change. Together, these results build a genomic understanding of how shifting soil microbiomes may affect plant productivity and ecosystem health as the Arctic warms. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Taylor J. Seitz Ursel M. E. Schütte Devin M. Drown |
author_facet |
Taylor J. Seitz Ursel M. E. Schütte Devin M. Drown |
author_sort |
Taylor J. Seitz |
title |
Unearthing Shifts in Microbial Communities Across a Soil Disturbance Gradient |
title_short |
Unearthing Shifts in Microbial Communities Across a Soil Disturbance Gradient |
title_full |
Unearthing Shifts in Microbial Communities Across a Soil Disturbance Gradient |
title_fullStr |
Unearthing Shifts in Microbial Communities Across a Soil Disturbance Gradient |
title_full_unstemmed |
Unearthing Shifts in Microbial Communities Across a Soil Disturbance Gradient |
title_sort |
unearthing shifts in microbial communities across a soil disturbance gradient |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2022.781051 https://doaj.org/article/8c73998cee0745109f47a16928908f33 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic Climate change permafrost Alaska |
genre_facet |
Arctic Climate change permafrost Alaska |
op_source |
Frontiers in Microbiology, Vol 13 (2022) |
op_relation |
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2022.781051/full https://doaj.org/toc/1664-302X 1664-302X doi:10.3389/fmicb.2022.781051 https://doaj.org/article/8c73998cee0745109f47a16928908f33 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2022.781051 |
container_title |
Frontiers in Microbiology |
container_volume |
13 |
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1766344085021392896 |