Protist size-dependent shifts of bacterial communities can reduce litter decomposition.

ABSTRACT: Microbial-mediated litter decomposition drives carbon and nutrient cycling. This process can be top-down regulated by microbiome predators, particularly the diverse protists. Size has been suggested to determine predation impacts, but how protists of different size categories affect microbial-mediated litter decomposition remains unknown. Using a litter decomposition experiment with three protist size categories, we investigated protist size-dependent effects on microbial-driven litter decomposition. We found that protists of the large-size category created more structurally similar bacterial communities compared to the no-protist control. These protists of the large size category also reduced litter mass loss by 40%, while increasing microbial respiration by 17% compared to the no-protist

SUBMITTER: Wang Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12753304 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature