Linking Microbial Community Structure to Trait Distributions and Functions Using Salinity as an Environmental Filter.

ABSTRACT: The structure and function of microbial communities vary along environmental gradients; however, interlinking the two has been challenging. In this study, salinity was used as an environmental filter to study how it could shape trait distributions, community structures, and the resulting functions of soil microbes. The environmental filter was applied by salinizing nonsaline soil (0 to 22 mg NaCl g^-1). Our targeted community trait distribution (salt tolerance) was determined with dose-response relationships between bacterial growth and salinity. The bacterial community structure responses were resolved with Illumina 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing, and the microbial functions determined were respiration and bacterial and fungal growth. Salt exposure quickly resulted in filtere

SUBMITTER: Rath KM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6650560 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature