Soil keystone viruses are regulators of ecosystem multifunctionality.
Pu Jia1, Jie-Liang Liang1, Jing-Li Lu1
1Institute of Ecological Science, Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Subtropical Biodiversity and Biomonitoring, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Biotechnology for Plant Development, School of Life Sciences, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, PR China.
Environment International
|August 22, 2024
Summary
Soil viral diversity, specifically keystone virus populations (vOTUs), positively impacts ecosystem multifunctionality. These specific viruses are better predictors of ecosystem functions than overall viral, prokaryotic, or fungal diversity.
Area of Science:
- Soil ecology
- Microbial ecology
- Virology
Background:
- Ecosystem multifunctionality is crucial for sustainable development.
- Soil viruses are key drivers of ecosystem functions but their link to multifunctionality is under-studied.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between soil viral diversity and ecosystem multifunctionality.
- To identify specific viral populations (vOTUs) that influence ecosystem functions.
Main Methods:
- Combined amplicon and metagenomic sequencing of 154 soil samples (farmlands and forests).
- Assessed prokaryotic, fungal, and viral diversity.
- Linked viruses to potential hosts and analyzed prokaryotic genes related to nutrient cycling.
Main Results:
- Specific viral populations (vOTUs) diversity, not overall viral diversity, correlated positively with ecosystem multifunctionality.
- Keystone vOTU diversity predicted multifunctionality better than prokaryotic or fungal diversity.
- Keystone viruses' hosts included Gemmatimonadota and Actinobacteria.
Conclusions:
- Specific soil viruses, particularly keystone vOTUs, are critical regulators of ecosystem multifunctionality.
- Findings have implications for managing soil ecosystem functions and nutrient cycling.
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