Shotgun Metagenomics of Deep Forest Soil Layers Show Evidence of Altered Microbial Genetic Potential for Biogeochemical Cycling.

ABSTRACT: Soil microorganisms such as Bacteria and Archaea play important roles in the biogeochemical cycling of soil nutrients, because they act as decomposers or are mutualistic or antagonistic symbionts, thereby influencing plant growth and health. In the present study, we investigated the vertical distribution of soil metagenomes to a depth of 1.5 m in Swiss forests of European beech and oak species on calcareous bedrock. We explored the functional genetic potential of soil microorganisms with the aim to disentangle the effects of tree genus and soil depth on the genetic repertoire, and to gain insight into the microbial C and N cycling. The relative abundance of reads assigned to taxa at the domain level indicated a 5-10 times greater abundance of Archaea in the deep soil, while Bacteria showed

SUBMITTER: Frey B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8921678 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature