Abstract
Soil microorganisms require metabolic strategies to cope with the significant variations in oxygen availability that occur in soil over a range of time scales. Characterised ammonia-oxidisers within Thaumarchaeota Groups 1.1a and 1.1b are aerobic, but the oxygen preference and metabolic potential of deeply-rooted Thaumarchaeota remain unknown, with several studies providing evidence for both aerobic and anaerobic metabolisms. This study therefore aimed to determine the influence of oxygen on the mesophilic Group 1.1c and Group 1.3 thaumarchaeotal community in controlled microcosm experiments conducted using oxic and anoxic Scottish pine forest soils, incubated under oxic or anoxic conditions. While we expected more anaerobic growth metabolism in those peatland soils, we demonstrated growth of multiple aerobic clusters within Group 1.1c Thaumarchaeota and anaerobic growth within Group 1.3 Thaumarchaeota. These findings extend our understanding of the physiology of deeply-rooted mesophilic Thaumarchaeota and provide the first detailed qualitative and quantitative assessment of their growth in soil.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 107848 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Soil Biology and Biochemistry |
Volume | 148 |
Early online date | 23 May 2020 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Sept 2020 |
Bibliographical note
The Illumina sequencing was performed in the Centre for Genome-Enabled Biology and Medicine (CGEBM) (University of Aberdeen, UK). We would like to thank Noémie Hauss for her help with the sampling and incubations, the Erasmus program for supporting Noémie Hauss and Dr Tony Travis for his support on Linux. EBW was supported by a PhD studentship from the University of Aberdeen, by a Natural Environmental Research Council grant (NE/L006286/1) and CGR by a Royal Society University Research Fellowship (UF150571).Keywords
- Thaumarchaeota
- Dormancy
- Anaerobic
- Aerobic
- Growth