Year-round metagenomes reveal remarkably stable microbial communities in agricultural soils and novel ammonia oxidizers responding to fertilization

Seasonal dynamics of indigenous soil microbial communities in agricultural soils, especially after major activities such as nitrogen fertilization, remain elusive. More detailed understanding of population dynamics will have important implications for modeling efforts and predicting nutrient bioavailability and cycling in soils. Here, we analyzed 20 short-read metagenomes (Illumina) collected at 4 time points across 1 year in two Midwestern agricultural sites and two depths (0-5 and 20-30 cm) with contrasting soil textures, sandy versus silty-loam.

农业土壤中土著土壤微生物群落的季节动态，尤其是在氮肥施用等重大农事活动影响后的群落季节动态，目前仍未被充分阐明。对这类种群动态的深入理解，将对土壤养分生物有效性与循环的建模研究及预测工作具有重要意义。本研究分析了20组基于Illumina平台的短读长宏基因组（short-read metagenomes）样本，这些样本采集自美国中西部2个农业试验站点，在1年内的4个时间点完成采样，每个站点设置0-5 cm与20-30 cm两个土层深度，且两个站点的土壤质地差异显著，分别为砂质土与粉砂壤土。