Bacterial Physiological Adaptations to Contrasting Edaphic Conditions Identified Using Landscape Scale Metagenomics.

ABSTRACT: Environmental factors relating to soil pH are important regulators of bacterial taxonomic biodiversity, yet it remains unclear if such drivers affect community functional potential. To address this, we applied whole-genome metagenomics to eight geographically distributed soils at opposing ends of a landscape soil pH gradient (where "low-pH" is ~pH 4.3 and "high-pH" is ~pH 8.3) and evaluated functional differences with respect to functionally annotated genes. First, differences in taxonomic and functional diversity between the two pH categories were assessed with respect to alpha diversity (mean sample richness) and gamma diversity (total richness pooled for each pH category). Low-pH soils, also exhibiting higher organic matter and moisture, consistently had lower taxonomic alpha and gamma

SUBMITTER: Malik AA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5573673 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature