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Resolving taxon-specific contributions to nutrient cycling in soil microbial communities through stable isotope enabled multi-omics


EMSL Project ID
60039

Abstract

Mechanistic and predictive understanding of microbial nutrient cycling requires deconvoluting the outcomes of multiple population- and community-scale processes. Yet quantitative knowledge of microbial rates of nutrient transformations and sensitivity to environmental factors has been derived primarily from bulk measurements that neglect the contributions of functionally and genetically varied soil taxa. By combining multiple 'omics (genomics and proteomics) and stable isotope probing approaches, the proposed work aims to quantify taxonomically resolved growth, substrate use, and functional allocation phenotypes within diverse soil communities in response to nitrogen (N) source and temperature. We will leverage samples from a long-term boreal peatland field experiment to 1) Relate taxon-specific rates of microbial growth to N assimilation across multiple N substrates and temperatures, 2) Characterize taxonomic patterns in substrate use and metabolic prioritization of protein synthesis, 3) Develop hypotheses about the interactions among growing and substrate-responsive community members. This work will contribute key trait-based insights to a framework for predicting how shifts in microbial community composition and physiology regulate nutrient cycling in soils. We anticipate these results will advance understanding of how variation in genome-encoded traits within microbial communities quantitatively shape environmental nutrient cycles.

Project Details

Project type
FICUS Research
Start Date
2021-10-01
End Date
N/A
Status
Active

Team

Principal Investigator

Amy Zimmerman
Institution
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Co-Investigator(s)

Kirsten Hofmockel
Institution
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Bruce Hungate
Institution
Northern Arizona University

Team Members

Kaitlin Rempfert
Institution
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Victoria Monsaint-Queeney
Institution
Northern Arizona University

Bram WG Stone
Institution
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Sheryl Bell
Institution
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Egbert Schwartz
Institution
Northern Arizona University

Jennifer Pett-Ridge
Institution
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory