Biological Soil Crusts from Different Soil Substrates Harbor Distinct Bacterial Groups with the Potential to Produce Exopolysaccharides and Lipopolysaccharides.

Biological Soil Crusts from Different Soil Substrates Harbor Distinct Bacterial Groups with the Potential to Produce Exopolysaccharides and Lipopolysaccharides.
Microb Ecol. 2019 Aug 01;:
Authors: Cania B, Vestergaard G, Kublik S, Köhne JM, Fischer T, Albert A, Winkler B, Schloter M, Schulz S
Abstract
Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) play an important role in improving soil stability and resistance to erosion by promoting aggregation of soil particles. During initial development, biocrusts are dominated by bacteria. Some bacterial members of the biocrusts can contribute to the formation of soil aggregates by producing exopolysaccharides and lipopolysaccharides that act as "glue" for soil particles. However, little is known about the dynamics of "soil glue" producers during the initial development of biocrusts. We hypothesized that different types of initial biocrusts harbor distinct producers of adhesive polysaccharides. To investigate this, we performed a microcosm experiment, cultivating biocrusts on two soil substrates. High-throughput shotgun sequencing was used to obtain metagenomic information on microbiomes of bulk soils from the beginning of the experiment, and biocrusts sampled after 4 and 10 months of incubation. We discovered that the relative abundance of genes involved in the biosynthesis of exopolysaccharides and lipopolysaccharides increased in biocrusts compared with bulk soils. At the same time, communities of pot...

Source: Microbial Ecology - July 31, 2019 Category: Microbiology Authors: Cania B, Vestergaard G, Kublik S, Köhne JM, Fischer T, Albert A, Winkler B, Schloter M, Schulz S Tags: Microb Ecol Source Type: research