The diversity, composition and potential function of bacterial size fractions from maize and soybean farmland soils

Agricultural soil microbiomes, with their varied cell sizes and metabolic capabilities, contribute significantly to differences in soil ecosystem functions and services. However, the relationships among bacterial cell size, community structure and nutrient turnover in agricultural soils remain uncle...

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Main Authors: Xuemei Hu, Chang Wang, Siyuan Wang, Yinghui Cao, Haofei Zhang, Chang Liu, He Sun, Yajun Gao, Shanshan Yang, Sanfeng Chen, Sen Du, Gehong Wei, Weimin Chen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-04-01
Series:Geoderma
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016706125000795
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author Xuemei Hu
Chang Wang
Siyuan Wang
Yinghui Cao
Haofei Zhang
Chang Liu
He Sun
Yajun Gao
Shanshan Yang
Sanfeng Chen
Sen Du
Gehong Wei
Weimin Chen
author_facet Xuemei Hu
Chang Wang
Siyuan Wang
Yinghui Cao
Haofei Zhang
Chang Liu
He Sun
Yajun Gao
Shanshan Yang
Sanfeng Chen
Sen Du
Gehong Wei
Weimin Chen
author_sort Xuemei Hu
collection DOAJ
description Agricultural soil microbiomes, with their varied cell sizes and metabolic capabilities, contribute significantly to differences in soil ecosystem functions and services. However, the relationships among bacterial cell size, community structure and nutrient turnover in agricultural soils remain unclear. This study categorized bacterial cells from maize and soybean fields into five distinct size fractions—F1 (>10 μm), F2 (3–10 μm), F3 (1–3 μm), F4 (0.4–1 μm) and F5 (0.2–0.4 μm)—using polycarbonate membrane filtration. High-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene and soil incubation subsequently revealed the taxonomic composition and potential functions of each size fraction. The results indicated that the bacterial diversity in maize field soil was greater than that in soybean field soil, with the F4 size fraction exhibiting the highest diversity and abundance in both soils, whereas the F1 size fraction showed the lowest. Proteobacteria dominated across all size fractions, and size-specific taxonomic distributions were observed: Myxococcota, Entotheonellaeota and Cyanobacteria were enriched in F1 and F2; Planctomycetota and Chloroflexi were enriched in F3; Bacteroidota, Verrucomicrobiota, Actinobacteriota and Firmicutes were enriched in F4 and F5. Before incubation, the qPCR of functional genes showed that the F1–F3 fractions exhibited highly active ammonia oxidation (F1, F2) and ammonification (F3), while the F4 fraction presented highly efficient organic P mineralization, when compared to other fractions. After incubation, qPCR and soil property analyses revealed that the F4 fraction exhibited highest increase in cell numbers and regulated C and P turnover through the secretion of BG and AKP, whereas the F1 fraction consistently maintained high ammonia oxidation capacity. These findings illustrate that bacterial taxa vary in cell size and nutrient turnover processes under different land-uses, thereby deepening our understanding of the bacterial ecology in farmlands.
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spelling doaj-art-9161d0459cde4880a84fda2e411c2cab2025-08-20T02:11:29ZengElsevierGeoderma1872-62592025-04-0145611724110.1016/j.geoderma.2025.117241The diversity, composition and potential function of bacterial size fractions from maize and soybean farmland soilsXuemei Hu0Chang Wang1Siyuan Wang2Yinghui Cao3Haofei Zhang4Chang Liu5He Sun6Yajun Gao7Shanshan Yang8Sanfeng Chen9Sen Du10Gehong Wei11Weimin Chen12State Key Laboratory for Crop Stress Resistance and High-Efficiency Production, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Environmental Microbiology, College of Life Sciences, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100 Shaanxi, People's Republic of ChinaState Key Laboratory for Crop Stress Resistance and High-Efficiency Production, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Environmental Microbiology, College of Life Sciences, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100 Shaanxi, People's Republic of ChinaState Key Laboratory for Crop Stress Resistance and High-Efficiency Production, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Environmental Microbiology, College of Life Sciences, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100 Shaanxi, People's Republic of ChinaState Key Laboratory for Crop Stress Resistance and High-Efficiency Production, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Environmental Microbiology, College of Life Sciences, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100 Shaanxi, People's Republic of ChinaState Key Laboratory for Crop Stress Resistance and High-Efficiency Production, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Environmental Microbiology, College of Life Sciences, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100 Shaanxi, People's Republic of ChinaState Key Laboratory for Crop Stress Resistance and High-Efficiency Production, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Environmental Microbiology, College of Life Sciences, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100 Shaanxi, People's Republic of ChinaState Key Laboratory for Crop Stress Resistance and High-Efficiency Production, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Environmental Microbiology, College of Life Sciences, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100 Shaanxi, People's Republic of ChinaState Key Laboratory for Crop Stress Resistance and High-Efficiency Production, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Environmental Microbiology, College of Life Sciences, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100 Shaanxi, People's Republic of ChinaState Key Laboratory for Crop Stress Resistance and High-Efficiency Production, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Environmental Microbiology, College of Life Sciences, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100 Shaanxi, People's Republic of ChinaState Key Laboratory for Agrobiotechnology and College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, People's Republic of ChinaFertilizer Technology Department, National Agricultural Extension Service Center, Beijing 100125, People's Republic of ChinaState Key Laboratory for Crop Stress Resistance and High-Efficiency Production, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Environmental Microbiology, College of Life Sciences, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100 Shaanxi, People's Republic of ChinaState Key Laboratory for Crop Stress Resistance and High-Efficiency Production, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Environmental Microbiology, College of Life Sciences, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100 Shaanxi, People's Republic of China; Corresponding author.Agricultural soil microbiomes, with their varied cell sizes and metabolic capabilities, contribute significantly to differences in soil ecosystem functions and services. However, the relationships among bacterial cell size, community structure and nutrient turnover in agricultural soils remain unclear. This study categorized bacterial cells from maize and soybean fields into five distinct size fractions—F1 (>10 μm), F2 (3–10 μm), F3 (1–3 μm), F4 (0.4–1 μm) and F5 (0.2–0.4 μm)—using polycarbonate membrane filtration. High-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene and soil incubation subsequently revealed the taxonomic composition and potential functions of each size fraction. The results indicated that the bacterial diversity in maize field soil was greater than that in soybean field soil, with the F4 size fraction exhibiting the highest diversity and abundance in both soils, whereas the F1 size fraction showed the lowest. Proteobacteria dominated across all size fractions, and size-specific taxonomic distributions were observed: Myxococcota, Entotheonellaeota and Cyanobacteria were enriched in F1 and F2; Planctomycetota and Chloroflexi were enriched in F3; Bacteroidota, Verrucomicrobiota, Actinobacteriota and Firmicutes were enriched in F4 and F5. Before incubation, the qPCR of functional genes showed that the F1–F3 fractions exhibited highly active ammonia oxidation (F1, F2) and ammonification (F3), while the F4 fraction presented highly efficient organic P mineralization, when compared to other fractions. After incubation, qPCR and soil property analyses revealed that the F4 fraction exhibited highest increase in cell numbers and regulated C and P turnover through the secretion of BG and AKP, whereas the F1 fraction consistently maintained high ammonia oxidation capacity. These findings illustrate that bacterial taxa vary in cell size and nutrient turnover processes under different land-uses, thereby deepening our understanding of the bacterial ecology in farmlands.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016706125000795Cell sizeCommunity structuresFarmland soilsSoil incubationNutrient turnover
spellingShingle Xuemei Hu
Chang Wang
Siyuan Wang
Yinghui Cao
Haofei Zhang
Chang Liu
He Sun
Yajun Gao
Shanshan Yang
Sanfeng Chen
Sen Du
Gehong Wei
Weimin Chen
The diversity, composition and potential function of bacterial size fractions from maize and soybean farmland soils
Geoderma
Cell size
Community structures
Farmland soils
Soil incubation
Nutrient turnover
title The diversity, composition and potential function of bacterial size fractions from maize and soybean farmland soils
title_full The diversity, composition and potential function of bacterial size fractions from maize and soybean farmland soils
title_fullStr The diversity, composition and potential function of bacterial size fractions from maize and soybean farmland soils
title_full_unstemmed The diversity, composition and potential function of bacterial size fractions from maize and soybean farmland soils
title_short The diversity, composition and potential function of bacterial size fractions from maize and soybean farmland soils
title_sort diversity composition and potential function of bacterial size fractions from maize and soybean farmland soils
topic Cell size
Community structures
Farmland soils
Soil incubation
Nutrient turnover
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016706125000795
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