Drought re-routes soil microbial carbon metabolism towards emission of volatile metabolites in an artificial tropical rainforest.

ABSTRACT: Drought impacts on microbial activity can alter soil carbon fate and lead to the loss of stored carbon to the atmosphere as CO₂ and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Here we examined drought impacts on carbon allocation by soil microbes in the Biosphere 2 artificial tropical rainforest by tracking ¹³C from position-specific ¹³C-pyruvate into CO₂ and VOCs in parallel with multi-omics. During drought, efflux of ¹³C-enriched acetate, acetone and C₄H₆O₂ (diacetyl) increased. These changes represent increased production and buildup of intermediate metabolites driven by decreased carbon cycling efficiency. Simultaneously,¹³C-CO₂ efflux decreased, driven by a decrease in microbial activi

SUBMITTER: Hernandez LK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10390333 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature