Cunninghamia lanceolata forest soil metagenome
This study aims to elucidate the regulatory role of soil viruses in the microbial carbon pump (MCP) within forest ecosystems, specifically in response to contrasting plant-derived carbon input pathways - aboveground litter versus belowground roots. Using a 15-year in-situ Detritus Input and Removal Treatment (DIRT) experiment in a Cunninghamia lanceolata forest, we integrated metagenomic and viromic sequencing to characterize bacterial community composition, functional gene profiles, viral life strategies (lytic versus lysogenic), virus-host interaction dynamics, and viral auxiliary metabolic genes (AMGs). These sequencing data were further combined with soil organic carbon fractionation (particulate organic carbon and mineral-associated organic carbon) and high-resolution dissolved organic matter molecular analysis to establish mechanistic links between viral regulation and soil carbon sequestration. Our findings reveal that viruses act as key biological switches, modulating microbial carbon turnover and stabilization in a season- and input-dependent manner, with profound implications for predicting forest soil carbon dynamics under ongoing global climate change. This work advances the conceptual integration of viral ecology into soil biogeochemical models and highlights the previously overlooked contribution of viruses to terrestrial carbon storage.