Comparative metagenomic, phylogenetic and physiological analyses of soil microbial communities across nitrogen gradients

Terrestrial ecosystems are receiving elevated inputs of nitrogen (N) from anthropogenic sources and understanding how these increases in N availability affect soil microbial communities is critical for predicting the associated effects on belowground ecosystems. We used a suite of approaches to analyze the structure and functional characteristics of soil microbial communities from replicated plots in two long-term N fertilization experiments located in contrasting systems. Pyrosequencing-based analyses of 16S rRNA genes revealed no significant effects of N fertilization on bacterial diversity, but significant effects on community composition at both sites; copiotrophic taxa (including members of the…

• NS
  National Science Foundation
• HH
  Howard Hughes Medical Institute
• UD
  U.S. Department of Energy
• UD
  U.S. Department of Agriculture
• AW
  Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
• NI
  National Institutes of Health