Phosphorus depletion in forest soils shapes bacterial communities towards phosphorus recycling systems (2016.0)
Bergkemper F., Schöler A., Engel M., Lang F., Krüger J., Schloter M., Schulz S.
Environmental Microbiology, 18 (6), 1988-2000
Abstract
Phosphorus (P) is an important macronutrient for allbiota on earth but similarly a finite resource. Microor-ganisms play on both sides of the fence as they effec-tively mineralize organic and solubilize precipitatedforms of soil phosphorus but conversely also take upand immobilize P. Therefore, we analysed the role ofmicrobes in two beech forest soils with high and lowP content by direct sequencing of metagenomicdeoxyribonucleic acid. For inorganic P solubilization,a significantly higher microbial potential wasdetected in the P-rich soil. This trait especiallyreferred toCandidatusSolibacter usiatus, likewiseone of the dominating species in the data sets. Ahigher microbial potential for efficient phosphateuptake systems (pstSCAB) was detected in theP-depleted soil. Genes involved in P starvationresponse regulation (phoB,phoR) were prevalent inboth soils. This underlines the importance of effectivephosphate (Pho) regulon control for microorganismsto use alternative P sources during phosphate limita-tion. Predicted genes were primarily harboured byRhizobiales, Actinomycetales and Acidobacteriales.
