Microbial Key Players Involved in P Turnover Differ in Artificial Soil Mixtures Depending on Clay Mineral Composition

Abstract

Nutrient turnover in soils is strongly driven by soil properties, including clay mineral composition. One main nutrient is phosphorus (P), which is known to be easily immobilized in soil. Therefore, the specific surface characteristics of clay minerals might substantially influence P availability in soil and thus the microbial strategies for accessing P pools. We used a metagenomic approach to analyze the microbial potential to access P after 842 days of incubation in artificial soils with a clay mineral composition of either non-expandable illite (IL) or expandable montmorillonite (MT), which differ in their surface characteristics like soil surface area and surface charge. Our data indicate that microorganisms of the two soils developed different strategies to overcome P depletion, resulting in similar total P concentrations. Genes predicted to encode inorganic pyrophosphatase (ppa), exopolyphosphatase (ppx), and the pstSCAB transport system were higher in MT, suggesting effective P uptake and the use of internal poly-P stores. Genes predicted to encode enzymes involved in organic P turnover like alkaline phosphatases (phoA, phoD) and glycerophosphoryl diester phosphodiesterase were detected in both soils in comparable numbers. In addition, Po concentrations did not differ significantly. Most identified genes were assigned to microbial lineages generally abundant in agricultural fields, but some were assigned to lineages known to include oligotrophic specialists, such as Bacillaceae and Microchaetaceae.

Effects of Spartina alterniflora Invasion on Nitrogen Fixation and Phosphorus Solubilization in a Subtropical Marine Mangrove Ecosystem

“…2a ; see also Table S1D at https://smdb.gxu.edu.cn/filezone/Supplementary_materials.pdf ). Genes encoding inorganic pyrophosphatase ( ppa ) and exopolyphosphatase ( ppx ) were highly abundant, suggesting the absorption of available P and the use of internal poly-P stores ( 30 ). These microbial P represent a large amount of immobilized P content, which cannot be used by plants temporarily ( 31 ).…”

Effects of Bradyrhizobium Co-Inoculated with Bacillus and Paenibacillus on the Structure and Functional Genes of Soybean Rhizobacteria Community

“…These genes control the synthesis of organic acids by soil microorganisms, reduce soil pH, promote the mineralization of phosphorus compounds [ 61 , 62 ] and increase available phosphorus in the rhizosphere of RP. Thus, the abundance of genes ( phn , pho , pst , ugp ) related to P transformation in microorganisms was increased, and each P metabolism pathway was more active [ 63 , 64 ]. Therefore, compound microbial inoculants RP enhanced the dissolution of phosphorus in rhizosphere soil; increased the content of available P in soil, so as to make the metabolism of phosphorus in soil more active; and also provided P for soybeans.…”

Sorghum Agronomic Performance and Soil Chemical and Microbiological Properties as Influenced by Burkina Faso Phosphate Rock-Enriched Composts

“…In addition, P-Comp-Soil-treated soils showed a signi cantly higher abundance of the phosphate-speci c transporter (pstS) and acid phosphatase (aphA) genes, as well as a signi cant abundance of total bacteria and fungi. Acid phosphatases (aphA in this study), together with phosphonatases (phnX), alkaline phosphatases (phoD), and phytases (appA), encode organic phosphate mineralization enzymes (Liu et al 2018;Tanuwidjaja et al 2020). The organic phosphate forms are represented mainly by phytate (Sing and Satyanarayana 2011).…”