Data_Sheet_1_Antarctic Ardley Island terrace — An ideal place to study the marine to terrestrial succession of microbial communities.ZIP

The study of chronosequences is an effective tool to study the effects of environmental changes or disturbances on microbial community structures, diversity, and the functional properties of ecosystems. Here, we conduct a chronosequence study on the Ardley Island coastal terrace of the Fildes Peninsula, Maritime Antarctica. The results revealed that prokaryotic microorganism communities changed orderly among the six successional stages. Some marine microbial groups could still be found in near-coastal soils of the late stage (lowest stratum). Animal pathogenic bacteria and stress-resistant microorganisms occurred at the greatest level with the longest succession period. The main driving factors for the succession of bacteria, archaea, and fungi along Ardley Island terrace were found through Adonis analysis (PERMANOVA). During analysis, soil elements Mg, Si, and Na were related to the bacterial and archaeal community structure discrepancies, while Al, Ti, K, and Cl were related to the fungal community structure discrepancies. On the other hand, other environmental factors also play an important role in the succession of microbial communities, which could be different among each microorganism. The succession of bacterial communities is greatly affected by pH and water content; archaeal communities are greatly affected by NH4+; fungal communities are affected by nutrients such as NO3−. In the analysis of the characteristic microorganisms along terrace, the succession of microorganisms was found to be influenced by complex and comprehensive factors. For instance, environmental instability, relationship with plants and ecological niches, and environmental tolerance. The results found that budding reproduction and/or with filamentous appendages bacteria were enriched in the late stage, which might be connected to its tolerance to rapid changes and barren environments. In addition, the decline in ammonia oxidation capacity of Thaumarchaeota archaeade with succession and the evolution of the fungi-plant relationship throughout classes were revealed. Overall, this research improves the understanding of the effect of the marine–to–terrestrial transition of the Ardley Island terrace on microbial communities. These findings will lay the foundation for more in-depth research regarding microbial adaptations and evolutionary mechanisms throughout the marine–terrestrial transition in the future.

对时间序列（chronosequence）的研究是探究环境变化或干扰对微生物群落结构、多样性及生态系统功能特性影响的有效手段。本研究围绕南极海洋性地带菲尔德斯半岛阿德莱德岛海岸阶地开展时间序列演替研究。结果显示，原核微生物群落在6个演替阶段中呈现出有序的变化规律：在演替后期（最底层）的近岸土壤中，仍可检测到部分海洋微生物类群；随着演替周期延长，动物病原菌与抗逆微生物的相对丰度达到峰值。通过Adonis置换多元方差分析（PERMANOVA），本研究明确了阿德莱德岛阶地细菌、古菌及真菌群落演替的主要驱动因子：土壤中的镁（Mg）、硅（Si）与钠（Na）与细菌和古菌的群落结构差异显著相关，而铝（Al）、钛（Ti）、钾（K）与氯（Cl）则与真菌群落结构差异相关。此外，其余环境因子同样对微生物群落演替具有重要调控作用，且不同微生物类群的关键影响因子存在差异：细菌群落演替主要受pH值与土壤含水量调控；古菌群落演替受铵根离子（NH4+）浓度影响显著；真菌群落则受硝态氮（NO3−）等养分因子调控。针对阶地特征微生物类群的分析表明，微生物演替受复杂多元的因素共同影响，包括环境不稳定性、与植物及生态位的关联、环境耐受性等。研究发现，以出芽繁殖且/或具有丝状附属物的细菌类群在演替后期显著富集，这可能与其对快速环境变化与贫瘠生境的耐受性密切相关。此外，本研究还揭示了随演替推进，奇古菌门（Thaumarchaeota）古菌的氨氧化能力逐渐减弱，以及不同真菌类群与植物的关联关系随演替发生演化的现象。总体而言，本研究深化了对阿德莱德岛海岸阶地从海洋向陆地过渡过程对微生物群落影响的认知，上述研究成果将为未来针对海洋-陆地过渡过程中微生物适应性与演化机制的深入研究奠定理论基础。