Impact of drought and plant litter type on microbial genes and genomes

Drought represents a significant stress to microorganisms and is known to reduce microbial activity and organic matter decomposition in Mediterranean ecosystems. However, we lack a detailed understanding of the drought stress response of microbial decomposers. Here we present shot gun metagenomic data on the physiological response of in situ microbial communities on plant litter to long-term drought in Californian grass and shrub ecosystems.