Quest for the Nitrogen-Metabolic Versatility of Microorganisms in Soil and Marine Ecosystems

• Published in: Microorganisms (Basel) Vol. 12; no. 7; p. 1283
• Main Authors: Zhao, Yongpeng, Zhu-Barker, Xia, Cai, Kai, Wang, Shuling, Wright, Alan L, Jiang, Xianjun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 25-06-2024
• Subjects: Ammonia; Assimilation; Bacteria; Biogeochemistry; Ecosystems; functional traits; Genes; Marine ecosystems; Marine microorganisms; metabolic versatility; Metabolism; Metagenomics; Microorganisms; N-cycling; N-transforming microbes; Nitrates; Nitrogen; Oxidation; Soil microorganisms; Soil types; Taxonomy; Versatility; China; N-transforming microbes; N-cycling; metabolic versatility; functional traits; metagenomics
• ISSN: 2076-2607; 2076-2607
• DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms12071283

Whether nitrogen (N)-metabolic versatility is a common trait of N-transforming microbes or if it only occurs in a few species is still unknown. We collected 83 soil samples from six soil types across China, retrieved 19 publicly available metagenomic marine sample data, and analyzed the functional traits of N-transforming microorganisms using metagenomic sequencing. More than 38% and 35% of N-transforming species in soil and marine ecosystems, respectively, encoded two or more N-pathways, although N-transforming species differed greatly between them. Furthermore, in both soil and marine ecosystems, more than 80% of nitrifying and N-fixing microorganisms at the species level were N-metabolic versatile. This study reveals that N-metabolic versatility is a common trait of N-transforming microbes, which could expand our understanding of the functional traits of drivers of nitrogen biogeochemistry.