TY - JOUR

T1 - A hitchhiker’s guide

T2 - estimates of microbial biomass and microbial gene abundance in soil

AU - Joergensen, Rainer Georg

AU - Hemkemeyer, Michael

AU - Beule, Lukas

AU - Iskakova, Janyl

AU - Oskonbaeva, Zhyldyz

AU - Rummel, Pauline Sophie

AU - Schwalb, Sanja Annabell

AU - Wichern, Florian

N1 - Funding Information: Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL. This work was supported by the German Research Foundation through the research unit DFG-FOR 2337 (project DASIM, grant number DI 546/4–2), by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research in the framework of BONARES (project SIGNAL, funding codes: 031A562A and 031B0510A), by the Ministry of [Climate Action,] Environment, Agriculture, Nature Conservation and Consumer Protection of the State North Rhine-Westphalia (project EffiZwisch), and by the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State North Rhine-Westphalia in association with Project Management Jülich (project Soil ionoMICS, grant number 005–1703-0025). Zhyldyz Oskonbaeva and Janyl Iskakova received grants from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2024.

PY - 2024

Y1 - 2024

N2 - Information on microbial biomass carbon (MBC) is crucial to assess their stocks and role for plant nutrient release in soil. Next to fumigation-extraction, molecular methods are routinely used to estimate the contribution of fungi, bacteria, and archaea to the soil microbial community. However, more information on the links between these different indices would deepen the understanding of microbial processes. The current study is based on 11 datasets, which contain MBC and MBN data obtained by fumigation-extraction and information on bacterial, archaeal, and fungal gene abundance, totalling 765 data points from agricultural, forest, and rangeland soils. Some of these datasets additionally provide information on double-stranded deoxyribonucleic acid (dsDNA) and fungal ergosterol. MBC varied around the median of 206 µg g−1 soil. MBN followed with a median MB-C/N ratio of 4.1. Median microbial gene abundance declined from bacteria (96 × 108) to archaea (4.4 × 108) to fungi (1.8 × 108). The median ratio of MBC/dsDNA was 15.8 and that of bacteria/dsDNA was 5.8 × 108 µg−1. The relationships between MBC and dsDNA as well as between bacterial gene abundance and dsDNA were both negatively affected by soil pH and positively by clay content. The median ergosterol/MBC and fungi/ergosterol ratios were 0.20% and 4.7 (n × 108 µg−1), respectively. The relationship between fungal gene abundance and ergosterol was negatively affected by soil pH and clay content. Our study suggests that combining fumigation-extraction with molecular tools allows more precise insights on the physiological interactions of soil microorganisms with their surrounding environment.

AB - Information on microbial biomass carbon (MBC) is crucial to assess their stocks and role for plant nutrient release in soil. Next to fumigation-extraction, molecular methods are routinely used to estimate the contribution of fungi, bacteria, and archaea to the soil microbial community. However, more information on the links between these different indices would deepen the understanding of microbial processes. The current study is based on 11 datasets, which contain MBC and MBN data obtained by fumigation-extraction and information on bacterial, archaeal, and fungal gene abundance, totalling 765 data points from agricultural, forest, and rangeland soils. Some of these datasets additionally provide information on double-stranded deoxyribonucleic acid (dsDNA) and fungal ergosterol. MBC varied around the median of 206 µg g−1 soil. MBN followed with a median MB-C/N ratio of 4.1. Median microbial gene abundance declined from bacteria (96 × 108) to archaea (4.4 × 108) to fungi (1.8 × 108). The median ratio of MBC/dsDNA was 15.8 and that of bacteria/dsDNA was 5.8 × 108 µg−1. The relationships between MBC and dsDNA as well as between bacterial gene abundance and dsDNA were both negatively affected by soil pH and positively by clay content. The median ergosterol/MBC and fungi/ergosterol ratios were 0.20% and 4.7 (n × 108 µg−1), respectively. The relationship between fungal gene abundance and ergosterol was negatively affected by soil pH and clay content. Our study suggests that combining fumigation-extraction with molecular tools allows more precise insights on the physiological interactions of soil microorganisms with their surrounding environment.

KW - Archaea

KW - Bacteria

KW - dsDNA

KW - Ergosterol

KW - Fungi

KW - MBC

U2 - 10.1007/s00374-024-01810-3

DO - 10.1007/s00374-024-01810-3

M3 - Journal article

AN - SCOPUS:85188109363

VL - 60

SP - 457

EP - 470

JO - Biology and Fertility of Soils

JF - Biology and Fertility of Soils

SN - 0178-2762

IS - 4

ER -