Survival and rapid resuscitation permit limited productivity in desert microbial communities.

ABSTRACT: Microbial activity in drylands tends to be confined to rare and short periods of rain. Rapid growth should be key to the maintenance of ecosystem processes in such narrow activity windows, if desiccation and rehydration cause widespread cell death due to osmotic stress. Here, simulating rain with ²H₂O followed by single-cell NanoSIMS, we show that biocrust microbial communities in the Negev Desert are characterized by limited productivity, with median replication times of 6 to 19 days and restricted number of days allowing growth. Genome-resolved metatranscriptomics reveals that nearly all microbial populations resuscitate within minutes after simulated rain, independent of taxonomy, and invest their activity into repair and energy generation. Together, our data revea

SUBMITTER: Imminger S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11519504 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature