Global patterns in the growth potential of soil bacterial communities

Ernest D. Osburn, Steven G. McBride, Mohammad Bahram, Michael S. Strickland

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

9 Scopus citations

Abstract

Despite the growing catalogue of studies detailing the taxonomic and functional composition of soil bacterial communities, the life history traits of those communities remain largely unknown. This study analyzes a global dataset of soil metagenomes to explore environmental drivers of growth potential, a fundamental aspect of bacterial life history. We find that growth potential, estimated from codon usage statistics, was highest in forested biomes and lowest in arid latitudes. This indicates that bacterial productivity generally reflects ecosystem productivity globally. Accordingly, the strongest environmental predictors of growth potential were productivity indicators, such as distance to the equator, and soil properties that vary along productivity gradients, such as pH and carbon to nitrogen ratios. We also observe that growth potential was negatively correlated with the relative abundances of genes involved in carbohydrate metabolism, demonstrating tradeoffs between growth and resource acquisition in soil bacteria. Overall, we identify macroecological patterns in bacterial growth potential and link growth rates to soil carbon cycling.

Original languageEnglish
Article number6881
JournalNature Communications
Volume15
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2024.

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Chemistry
  • General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
  • General Physics and Astronomy

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Global patterns in the growth potential of soil bacterial communities'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this