Bacterial and Fungal Community Responses to Long-Term Salinity Gradients in Natural Soils of Kazakhstan

Natural saline-alkaline soils are widespread in Central Asia, yet microbial responses to salinity gradients and ionic composition remain poorly resolved. We profiled bacterial communities (16S rRNA V3-V4, Illumina MiSeq) in 20 topsoil (0-20 cm) samples from four regions of Kazakhstan spanning non-saline to highly saline conditions. Soil chemistry included pH, total mineralization (dry residue), and major ions (Na⁺, Cl^-, SO₄^2-, HCO₃^-, Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, K⁺). Alpha (Chao1, Shannon, observed ASVs) and beta diversity (Bray-Curtis; ANOSIM; PCoA) were evaluated across salinity classes. Soils were alkaline (pH 7.91-10.47) and covered a broad salinity range (256-26,312 mg/L), driven mainly by Na⁺ with chloride and/or sulfate. Alpha diversity remained stable across salinity classes, though dispersion increased under high salinity. Community composition differed significantly among classes (ANOSIM R = 0.428, p = 0.005), with partial PCoA separation and overlap, indicating gradual turnover along the salinity gradient. In contrast, fungal communities showed no significant response to salinity, with stable alpha and beta diversity across all samples and consistent dominance of Ascomycota. Communities were dominated by Actinomycetota (formerly Actinobacteriota), Bacteroidota, and Pseudomonadota (formerly Proteobacteria). Bacteroidota increased in highly saline soils (FDR q = 0.036), whereas Acidobacteriota decreased (FDR q = 0.052). Thermodesulfobacteriota (formerly Desulfobacterota) correlated positively with sulfate, and Cyanobacteriota negatively with chloride. Overall, Kazakhstan's saline-alkaline soils show stable bacterial alpha diversity but moderate, ion-linked compositional shifts with enrichment of halotolerant taxa.