Identification of diverse bacteria in decaying wood in nature. wood decay metagenome

Bacteria have been shown to decompose lignin in vitro, but their lignin-decomposing activity in nature has not been demonstrated at the genera and species levels. The objectives of this study were to identify bacterial communities present in wood decayed by white-rot fungi, which play a potential role in lignin degradation, and to establish the functional profile of bacterial lignin degradation in wood using microbial community analyses. The bacterial flora of forest soil and decayed wood showed marked differences; in particular, Sphingomonas, Methylobacterium, and Acidibrevibacterium were more abundant in decayed wood than in forest soil. The abundance of sphingomonads, which have been shown to degrade the major skeleton of lignin in vitro, was higher in the decayed wood than in forest soil, suggesting that multiple bacteria may be involved in lignin degradation. Our study provides evidence that can help clarify the lignin degradation process of decayed wood in a natural forest.