Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Feb;85(2):659-668.
doi: 10.1007/s00248-022-01967-0. Epub 2022 Jan 31.

Volatile and Dissolved Organic Carbon Sources Have Distinct Effects on Microbial Activity, Nitrogen Content, and Bacterial Communities in Soil

Steven G McBride  1   2 , Ernest D Osburn  3   4 , Jane M Lucas  4   5 , Julia S Simpson  3   6 , Taylor Brown  3 , J E Barrett  3 , Michael S Strickland  4
Affiliations

Volatile and Dissolved Organic Carbon Sources Have Distinct Effects on Microbial Activity, Nitrogen Content, and Bacterial Communities in Soil

Steven G McBride et al. Microb Ecol. 2023 Feb.

Abstract

Variation in microbial use of soil carbon compounds is a major driver of biogeochemical processes and microbial community composition. Available carbon substrates in soil include both low molecular weight-dissolved organic carbon (LMW-DOC) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). To compare the effects of LMW-DOC and VOCs on soil chemistry and microbial communities under different moisture regimes, we performed a microcosm experiment with five levels of soil water content (ranging from 25 to 70% water-holding capacity) and five levels of carbon amendment: a no carbon control, two dissolved compounds (glucose and oxalate), and two volatile compounds (methanol and α-pinene). Microbial activity was measured throughout as soil respiration; at the end of the experiment, we measured extractable soil organic carbon and total extractable nitrogen and characterized prokaryotic communities using amplicon sequencing. All C amendments increased microbial activity, and all except oxalate decreased total extractable nitrogen. Likewise, individual phyla responded to specific C amendments-e.g., Proteobacteria increased under addition of glucose, and both VOCs. Further, we observed an interaction between moisture and C amendment, where both VOC treatments had higher microbial activity than LMW-DOC treatments and controls at low moisture. Across moisture and C treatments, we identified that Chloroflexi, Nitrospirae, Proteobacteria, and Verrucomicrobia were strong predictors of microbial activity, while Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Thaumarcheota strongly predicted soil extractable nitrogen. These results indicate that the type of labile C source available to soil prokaryotes can influence both microbial diversity and ecosystem function and that VOCs may drive microbial functions and composition under low moisture conditions.

Keywords: Amplicon sequencing; Dissolved organic carbon; Microbial community composition.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Averill C, Waring BG, Hawkes CV (2016) Historical precipitation predictably alters the shape and magnitude of microbial functional response to soil moisture. Glob Change Biol 22:1957–1964. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13219 - DOI
    1. Hawkes CV, Waring BG, Rocca JD, Kivlin SN (2017) Historical climate controls soil respiration responses to current soil moisture. Proc Natl Acad Sci 114:6322–6327. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1620811114 - DOI - PubMed - PMC
    1. Kuzyakov Y, Blagodatskaya E (2015) Microbial hotspots and hot moments in soil: concept & review. Soil Biol Biochem 83:184–199. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2015.01.025 - DOI
    1. Peñuelas J, Asensio D, Tholl D, Wenke K, Rosenkranz M, Piechulla B, Schnitzler JP (2014) Biogenic volatile emissions from the soil. Plant, Cell Environ 37:1866–1891. https://doi.org/10.1111/pce.12340 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Sauer D, Kuzyakov Y, Stahr K (2006) Short communication spatial distribution of root exudates of five plant species as assessed by

LinkOut - more resources