Researchers report altered soil microbial community functional structure in experimentally warmed Alaskan permafrost plots associated with increased ecosystem respiration and methane emissions, compared with control plots; at the upper boundary of the initial permafrost layer, 45-55 cm below the surface, the relative abundance of genes involved in methanogenesis increased with warming, whereas genes involved in carbohydrate metabolism became more abundant at shallower depths of 15-25 cm, providing insight into tundra microbial community response to warming.
Article #19-01307: "Responses of tundra soil microbial communities to half a decade of experimental warming at two critical depths," by Eric R. Johnston et al.
MEDIA CONTACT: Konstantinos T. Konstantinidis, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA; tel: 404-385-3628; e-mail: kostas@ce.gatech.edu
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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences