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bioRxiv · 10.1101/455071

Soil microbial communities with greater investment in resource acquisition have lower growth yield

Malik, A. A.·Puissant, J.·Goodall, T.·Allison, S. D.·Griffiths, R. I.
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Abstract

Resource acquisition and growth yield are fundamental traits of microorganisms that have consequences for ecosystem functioning. However, there is a lack of empirical observations linking these traits. Using a landscape-scale survey of temperate near-neutral pH soils, we show tradeoffs in key community-level parameters linked to these traits. Increased investment into extracellular enzymes was associated with reduced growth yield; this reduction was linked more to carbon than nitrogen acquisition enzymes suggesting smaller stoichiometric constraints on community metabolism in examined soils.

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Malik, A. A., Puissant, J., Goodall, T., Allison, S. D., Griffiths, R. I.. 2018-10-29. Soil microbial communities with greater investment in resource acquisition have lower growth yield. https://doi.org/10.1101/455071

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