Variation in archaeal and bacterial community profiles and their functional metabolic predictions under the influence of pure and mixed fertilizers in paddy soil

Mohsin Gulzar Barq; Muhammad Mubashar Hassan; Humaira Yasmin; Asim Shahzad; Noshaba Hassan Malik; Nicola Lorenz; Abdulaziz Abdullah Alsahli; Richard P Dick; Naeem Ali

doi:10.1016/j.sjbs.2021.08.091

Variation in archaeal and bacterial community profiles and their functional metabolic predictions under the influence of pure and mixed fertilizers in paddy soil

Saudi J Biol Sci. 2021 Nov;28(11):6077-6085. doi: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2021.08.091. Epub 2021 Sep 6.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Microbiology, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad 45320, Pakistan.
² Department of Biosciences, COMSATS University Islamabad (CUI), Islamabad, Pakistan.
³ Department of Botany, Mohi-Ud-Din Islamic University, AJ&K, Pakistan.
⁴ College of Geography and Environment, Henan University, Jinming Ave, Kaifeng, China.
⁵ School of Environment and Natural Resources, 2021 Coffey Road, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210-1085, USA.
⁶ Department Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia.
⁷ Biodesign Swette Center for Environmental Biotechnology, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA.

Abstract

Impact of environmental perturbations i.e., nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), and rice straw (Rs) on the dynamics of soil bacterial and archaeal communities are multifactor dependent and seeks a contemporary approach to study underlying mechanisms. The current study investigates the effect of pure and mixed fertilizers on soil physicochemical properties, the microbial community structure, and their functional metabolic predictions. It involved amendments with distinct combinations of N as C(H₂N)₂O, P and K as KH₂PO₄, K as KCl, and Rs in paddy soil microcosms with concentrations common in rice fields agriculture. Soil pH, electrical conductivity (EC), total carbon (TC), total nitrogen (TN), organic matter (OM), available K (AK), and total extractable P (TEP) were evaluated. To comprehend community variation and functional predictions, 16S rRNA-based high throughput sequencing (HTS) and phylogenetic investigation of communities by reconstruction of unobserved states (PICRUSt) were employed, respectively. Our findings showed enhanced community richness and diversity in all amendments compared to control. Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Firmicutes were dominant bacterial phyla. Regarding relative abundance, Chloroflexi, Bacteroidetes, and Verrucomicrobia showed positive while Actinobacteria, Acidobacteria, and Gemmatimonadetes showed negative trends compared to controls. Thaumarchaeota and Euryarchaeota were dominant archaeal phyla and exhibited increasing and decreasing trends, respectively. The PICRUSt analysis indicated functional prediction more towards amino acid, carbohydrate, energy, and lipid metabolism while less towards others. Concerning energy metabolism, most and least responsive treatments were KP and controls, respectively. These outcomes enhanced our understanding regarding soil quality, fertilizer composition and application, and functional metabolomics of archaea and bacteria.

Keywords: High throughput sequencing; Methane metabolism; Microcosm; NPK fertilizers; PICRUSt; Paddy soil.