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. 2024 Sep 23:12:e17769.
doi: 10.7717/peerj.17769. eCollection 2024.

Seasonal dynamics in leaf litter decomposing microbial communities in temperate forests: a whole-genome- sequencing-based study

Nataliia Khomutovska  1   2 , Iwona Jasser  2 , Polina Sarapultseva  3 , Viktoria Spirina  3 , Andrei Zaitsev  4 , Jolanta Masłowiecka  5 , Valery A Isidorov  5
Affiliations

Seasonal dynamics in leaf litter decomposing microbial communities in temperate forests: a whole-genome- sequencing-based study

Nataliia Khomutovska et al. PeerJ. .

Abstract

Leaf litter decomposition, a crucial component of the global carbon cycle, relies on the pivotal role played by microorganisms. However, despite their ecological importance, leaf-litter-decomposing microorganism taxonomic and functional diversity needs additional study. This study explores the taxonomic composition, dynamics, and functional role of microbial communities that decompose leaf litter of forest-forming tree species in two ecologically unique regions of Europe. Twenty-nine microbial metagenomes isolated from the leaf litter of eight forest-forming species of woody plants were investigated by Illumina technology using read- and assembly-based approaches of sequences analysis. The taxonomic structure of the microbial community varies depending on the stage of litter decomposition; however, the community's core is formed by Pseudomonas, Sphingomonas, Stenotrophomonas, and Pedobacter genera of Bacteria and by Aureobasidium, Penicillium, Venturia genera of Fungi. A comparative analysis of the taxonomic structure and composition of the microbial communities revealed that in both regions, seasonal changes in structure take place; however, there is no clear pattern in its dynamics. Functional gene analysis of MAGs revealed numerous metabolic profiles associated with leaf litter degradation. This highlights the diverse metabolic capabilities of microbial communities and their implications for ecosystem processes, including the production of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) during organic matter decomposition. This study provides important advances in understanding of ecosystem processes and the carbon cycle, underscoring the need to unravel the intricacies of microbial communities within these contexts.

Keywords: Bacteria; Fungi; Leaf litter decomposition; Metagenome; Microbial communities; Temperate and boreal forests; Volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare there are no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Studied samples of leaf litter.
Betula pendula—BP; Betula pubescens—BS; Carpinus betulus—CB; Populus tremula—PT; Alnus glutinosa—AG; Quercus robur—QR; Tilia cordata—TP; Acer platanoides.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Taxonomic composition based on the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) taxonomy for the entire community.
Read-based metagenomic analysis of the composition of bacterial communities.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Taxonomic composition and structure of microbial communities at the genus level.
Read-based analysis. Scaled dataset.
Figure 4
Figure 4. Comparison of the structure of leaf litter decomposing microbial communities.
Figure 5
Figure 5. Functional genes annotation of studied assemblies based on DRAM (distilled and refined annotation of metabolism).
Figure 6
Figure 6. Functional genes annotation of obtained MAGs based on DRAM (distilled and refined annotation of metabolism).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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