Metagenomic and -transcriptomic analyses of microbial nitrogen transformation potential, and gene expression in Swiss lake sediments.

ABSTRACT: The global nitrogen (N) cycle has been strongly altered by anthropogenic activities, including increased input of bioavailable N into aquatic ecosystems. Freshwater sediments are hotspots with regards to the turnover and elimination of fixed N, yet the environmental controls on the microbial pathways involved in benthic N removal are not fully understood. Here, we analyze the abundance and expression of microbial genes involved in N transformations using metagenomics and -transcriptomics across sediments of 12 Swiss lakes that differ in sedimentation rates and trophic regimes. Our results indicate that microbial N loss in these sediments is primarily driven by nitrification coupled to denitrification. N-transformation gene compositions indicated three groups of lakes: agriculture-influence

SUBMITTER: Baumann KBL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11476906 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature