Habitat heterogeneity drives microbial community assembly and functional specialization in extremely arid ecosystems.

ABSTRACT: Extreme arid ecosystems present significant environmental challenges, yet the mechanisms by which habitat heterogeneity (e.g., salinity gradients, soil-sediment contrasts) shapes microbial community assembly and functional specialization remain poorly understood. This study integrated culture-dependent and culture-independent approaches to investigate microbial diversity, assembly processes, and metabolic potential across wasteland soils, desert soils, and saline lake sediments in the Turpan-Hami Basin. High-throughput sequencing revealed habitat-specific patterns, with lake sediments exhibiting significantly greater OTU richness and Shannon diversity than wasteland and desert soils (P < 0.05). These shifts were driven by salinity-dependent taxonomic succession, notably the dominanc

SUBMITTER: Huang J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12915352 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature