Newswise — Under the guidance of Jizhong Zhou, Ph.D., who heads the Institute for Environmental Genomics at the University of Oklahoma, a global research group carried out an extended study that discovered the decrease of diversity and substantial changes in the community structure of soil archaea due to climate warming. The publication of their results can be found in the journal Nature Climate Change.
Microscopic life can be classified into three kingdoms based on their relationship with one another. Eukarya comprises intricate organisms such as animals and plants, as well as microorganisms such as fungi. The remaining two domains, bacteria and archaea, exclusively consist of microorganisms. Archaea thrive in various environments, including some of the most extreme conditions such as volcanoes and permafrost. Nevertheless, archaea are also widespread in the human microbiome and play a vital role in soil ecology.
"Temperature serves as a significant catalyst for biological activities; thus, global warming will have implications on various ecological communities," stated Zhou. "Through our previous long-term research data, we discovered that simulated warming results in distinct variations in soil bacterial and fungal communities, hastens microbial temporal scaling, lowers soil bacterial, fungal, and protist biodiversity, but heightens the complexity and stability of bacterial networks. Nevertheless, the impact of climate warming on the temporal progression of archaeal communities remains uncertain. Archaea are present everywhere in soil and contribute to fundamental soil functions, such as nitrification and methanogenesis."
By utilizing a multifaceted experimental field site at the Kessler Atmospheric and Ecological Field Station of OU over a prolonged duration, the team established that simulated warming of a tallgrass prairie ecosystem brought about notable changes in the community structure of soil archaea and decreased their taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity. In contrast to their earlier observations in bacteria and fungi, their results demonstrate that climate warming leads to the similar evolution of the soil archaeal community, indicating that archaeal community structures would become more predictable in a warmer world.
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About the Project
The article, “Experimental Warming Leads to Convergent Succession of Grassland Archaeal Community” published May 3, 2023 in Nature Climate Change. DOI no. 10.1038/s41558-023-01664-x. Zhou, who is also a George Lynn Cross Research Professor of Microbiology in the Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences, is the corresponding author. The first author is Ya Zhang, Institute for Environmental Genomics and Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology at OU.
About the University of Oklahoma Office of the Vice President for Research and Partnerships
The University of Oklahoma is a leading research university classified by the Carnegie Foundation in the highest tier of research universities in the nation. Faculty, staff and students at OU are tackling global challenges and accelerating the delivery of practical solutions that impact society in direct and tangible ways through research and creative activities. OU researchers expand foundational knowledge while moving beyond traditional academic boundaries, collaborating across disciplines and globally with other research institutions as well as decision makers and practitioners from industry, government and civil society to create and apply solutions for a better world. Find out more at ou.edu/research.
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