Soil metagenome Raw sequence reads. Soil metagenome

Understanding the ecology of microorganisms in nature requires studying traits of these organisms quantitatively in their natural habitats. This study uses quantitative stable isotope probing (qSIP) to assess the growth rate and carbon assimilation rate of soil microorganisms are, and shows that they are more influenced by taxonomy than by climate, even across a broad climatic gradient spanning major temperate life zones, from mixed conifer forest to high desert grassland.