title: Clay minerals and metal oxides strongly influence the structure of alkane-degrading microbial communities during soil maturation.
abstract: Clay minerals, charcoal and metal oxides are essential parts of the soil matrix and strongly influence the formation of biogeochemical interfaces in soil. We investigated the role of these parental materials for the development of functional microbial guilds using the example of alkane-degrading bacteria harbouring the alkane monooxygenase gene (alkB) in artificial mixtures composed of different minerals and charcoal, sterile manure and a microbial inoculum extracted from an agricultural soil. We followed changes in abundance and community structure of alkane-degrading microbial communities after 3 and 12 months of soil maturation and in response to a subsequent 2-week plant litter addition. During maturation we observed an overall increasing divergence in community composition. The impact of metal oxides on alkane-degrading community structure increased during soil maturation, whereas the charcoal impact decreased from 3 to 12 months. Among the clay minerals illite influenced the community structure of alkB-harbouring bacteria significantly, but not montmorillonite. The litter application induced strong community shifts in soils, maturated for 12 months, towards functional guilds typical for younger maturation stages pointing to a resilience of the alkane-degradation function potentially fostered by an extant 'seed bank'.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Microbiology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Annelie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Steinbach
authors.affiliation: Research Unit for Environmental Genomics, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Stefanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schulz
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Microbiology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Giebler
authors.affiliation: Research Unit for Environmental Genomics, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Stephan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schulz
authors.affiliation: 1] Chair of Soil Science, Technische Universität München, Freising, Germany [2] Institute for Advanced Study, Technische Universität München, Garching, Germany.
authors.forename: Geertje J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Pronk
authors.affiliation: 1] Chair of Soil Science, Technische Universität München, Freising, Germany [2] Institute for Advanced Study, Technische Universität München, Garching, Germany.
authors.forename: Ingrid
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kögel-Knabner
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Environmental Microbiology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Leipzig, Germany [2] German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Hauke
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Harms
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Microbiology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Lukas Y
authors.initials: LY
authors.lastname: Wick
authors.affiliation: 1] Research Unit for Environmental Genomics, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany [2] Chair of Soil Science, Technische Universität München, Freising, Germany.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schloter
mesh_terms: D000473:Alkanes / Q000378:metabolism*; D000538:Aluminum Silicates; D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D002606:Charcoal / Q000378:metabolism; D000077215:Clay; D008670:Metals / Q000378:metabolism; D008903:Minerals; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry*; D012988:Soil Microbiology; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000473:Alkanes; D000538:Aluminum Silicates; D008670:Metals; D008903:Minerals; D012987:Soil; D012989:Soil Pollutants; C099089:illite; D002606:Charcoal; D000077215:Clay