Comammox bacteria and ammonia oxidizing archaea are major drivers of nitrification in glacier forelands
Hanxia Yu,
Jupei Shen,
Jun Zeng,
Hang-Wei Hu,
Elise Pendall,
Haoyan Xiao,
Zikai Liu,
Hui Zhang,
Hong J. Di,
Zhongqin Li,
Ji-Zheng He
Affiliations
Hanxia Yu
Key Laboratory of Humid Subtropical Eco-Geographical Process of Ministry of Education, School of Geographical Sciences, School of Carbon Neutrality Future Technology, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou 350007 China; Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia
Jupei Shen
Key Laboratory of Humid Subtropical Eco-Geographical Process of Ministry of Education, School of Geographical Sciences, School of Carbon Neutrality Future Technology, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou 350007 China; Corresponding authors.
Jun Zeng
Institute of Applied Microbiology, Xinjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Urumqi 830091, China
Hang-Wei Hu
School of Agriculture and Food, Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville 3010, Victoria, Australia
Elise Pendall
Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia
Haoyan Xiao
Key Laboratory of Humid Subtropical Eco-Geographical Process of Ministry of Education, School of Geographical Sciences, School of Carbon Neutrality Future Technology, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou 350007 China; Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia
Zikai Liu
Key Laboratory of Humid Subtropical Eco-Geographical Process of Ministry of Education, School of Geographical Sciences, School of Carbon Neutrality Future Technology, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou 350007 China
Hui Zhang
Altai Observation and Research Station of Cryospheric Science and Sustainable Development, State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Science, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China
Hong J. Di
Centre for Soil and Environmental Research, Lincoln University, Lincoln 7647, Christchurch, New Zealand
Zhongqin Li
Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Tianshan Glaciological Station, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China
Ji-Zheng He
Key Laboratory of Humid Subtropical Eco-Geographical Process of Ministry of Education, School of Geographical Sciences, School of Carbon Neutrality Future Technology, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou 350007 China; Corresponding authors.
This study investigated the abundance of comammox bacteria and canonical ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and archaea (AOA), and their relative contribution to nitrification along a chronosequence of deglaciated forelands. The results showed that nitrification related gene abundance tended to increase with glacier retreat, with comammox bacteria and AOA appearing to be the most critical drivers for soil nitrification rates. These findings provide new evidence for the presence of comammox bacteria in glacier forelands and enhance our understanding of the niche differentiation of canonical nitrifier and comammox bacteria.
