Microbial Interactions Drive Distinct Taxonomic and Potential Metabolic Responses to Habitats in Karst Cave Ecosystem.

ABSTRACT: The geological role of microorganisms has been widely studied in the karst cave ecosystem. However, microbial interactions and ecological functions in such a dark, humid, and oligotrophic habitat have received far less attention, which is crucial to understanding cave biogeochemistry. Herein, microorganisms from weathered rock and sediment along the Heshang Cave depth were analyzed by random matrix theory-based network and Tax4Fun functional prediction. The results showed that although the cave microbial communities have spatial heterogeneity, differential habitats drove the community structure and diversity. Actinobacteria were predominant in weathered rock, whereas Proteobacteria dominated the sediment. The sediment communities presented significantly higher alpha diversiti

SUBMITTER: Ma L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8557908 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature