Protists as catalyzers of microbial litter breakdown and carbon cycling at different temperature regimes.

ABSTRACT: Soil bacteria and fungi are key drivers of carbon released from soils to the atmosphere through decomposition of plant-derived organic carbon sources. This process has important consequences for the global climate. While global change factors, such as increased temperature, are known to affect bacterial- and fungal-mediated decomposition rates, the role of trophic interactions in affecting decomposition remains largely unknown. We designed synthetic microbial communities consisting of eight bacterial and eight fungal species and tested the influence of predation by a model protist, Physarum polycephalum, on litter breakdown at 17 and 21 °C. Protists increased CO₂ release and litter mass loss by ~35% at 17 °C lower temperatures, while they only had minor effects on microbial-driv

SUBMITTER: Geisen S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8027204 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature