Different sodium and potassium homeostasis patterns between rare and abundant microbial taxa in biological soil...

Biological soil crusts (BSCs) play essential roles in arid ecosystems by stabilizing soil and regulating hydrological processes. BSC microbial communities comprise a small number of abundant taxa and a large pool of rare taxa, which differ in their transcriptional capacities. However, the respective contributions of abundant and rare taxa to alkali‑metal homeostasis, a process crucial for maintaining cellular osmotic balance and metabolic activity, remain poorly understood. Here, we integrated metatranscriptomic sequencing with chemical fractionation analysis of Na⁺ and K⁺ to compare transcriptional patterns and influencing factors between rare and abundant microbial taxa in moss‑dominated (MD) and lichen‑dominated (LD) crusts. Our results indicated that abundant bacteria expressed the Na⁺/H⁺ antiporter nhaA and the trk/ktr K⁺ uptake protein, particularly in MD crusts. In contrast, rare taxa expressed diverse genes, including Na⁺/H⁺ antiporter nhaB, nhaC, and nhaD, K⁺-stimulated Na⁺-pyrophosphatase nsaA, and kup K⁺ uptake. Abundant fungi dominated expression of the NHE‑type Na⁺/H⁺ antiporter nha1, while rare fungi expressed a variety of genes. Analysis of the integrated co-occurrence network indicated that abundant bacterial and fungal taxa displayed greater node degree and connectivity relative to rare taxa, and were dominant in both microbial co-occurrence links and the expression of key Na⁺/K⁺ uptake and transport genes. The expression of these genes was more strongly correlated with bioavailable Na and K fractions, particularly carbonate- and oxide-bound forms, than with soil pH or electrical conductivity. These findings indicate that bioavailable Na and K contents induce distinct transcriptional responses in abundant and rare taxa, thereby regulating key alkali-metal homeostasis within BSC microbial communities.