ISME communicationsPub Date : 2025-02-17eCollection Date: 2025-01-01DOI: 10.1093/ismeco/ycaf032
Armaan Kaur Sandhu, Brady R Fischer, Senthil Subramanian, Adam D Hoppe, Volker S Brözel
{"title":"Self-growth suppression in <i>Bradyrhizobium diazoefficiens</i> is caused by a diffusible antagonist.","authors":"Armaan Kaur Sandhu, Brady R Fischer, Senthil Subramanian, Adam D Hoppe, Volker S Brözel","doi":"10.1093/ismeco/ycaf032","DOIUrl":"10.1093/ismeco/ycaf032","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Microbes in soil navigate interactions by recognizing kin, forming social groups, exhibiting antagonistic behavior, and engaging in competitive kin rivalry. Here, we investigated a novel phenomenon of self-growth suppression (sibling rivalry) observed in <i>Bradyrhizobium diazoefficiens</i> USDA 110. Swimming colonies of USDA 110 developed a distinct demarcation line and inter-colony zone when inoculated adjacent to each other. In addition to self, USDA 110 suppressed growth of other <i>Bradyrhizobium</i> strains and several other soil bacteria. We demonstrated that the phenomenon of sibling rivalry is due to growth suppression but not cell death. The cells in the inter-colony zone were culturable but had reduced respiratory activity, ATP levels, and motility. The observed growth suppression was due to the presence of a diffusible effector compound. This effector was labile, preventing extraction, and identification, but it is unlikely a protein or a strong acid or base. This counterintuitive phenomenon of self-growth suppression suggests a strategic adaptation for conserving energy and resources in competitive soil environments. <i>Bradyrhizobium's</i> utilization of antagonism including self-growth suppression likely provides a competitive advantage for long-term success in soil ecosystems.</p>","PeriodicalId":73516,"journal":{"name":"ISME communications","volume":"5 1","pages":"ycaf032"},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2025-02-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11896636/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143607349","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ISME communicationsPub Date : 2025-02-17eCollection Date: 2025-01-01DOI: 10.1093/ismeco/ycaf025
Xia Liu, Xiaofan Gong, Kai Ma, Wen Song, Jiayin Zhou, Mengqi Wang, Yueyue Li, Mengzhi Ji, Yan Li, He Han, Yuzhuo Wang, Qichao Tu
{"title":"Resolving ecological drivers of temporal variations of β-diversity across intertidal microbiomes.","authors":"Xia Liu, Xiaofan Gong, Kai Ma, Wen Song, Jiayin Zhou, Mengqi Wang, Yueyue Li, Mengzhi Ji, Yan Li, He Han, Yuzhuo Wang, Qichao Tu","doi":"10.1093/ismeco/ycaf025","DOIUrl":"10.1093/ismeco/ycaf025","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Resolving the ecological drivers mediating the diversity patterns of microbial communities across space and through time is a central issue in microbial ecology. Both regional species pools and local community assembly contribute to the spatial turnover of biodiversity. In this study, we extended the concept of regional species pool to temporal, and investigated the seasonal dynamics of intertidal microbiomes across four microbial domains/kingdoms (bacteria, archaea, fungi, and protists). The results showed that the seasonal variations of microbial β-diversity were primarily governed by community assembly processes rather than temporal species pools. Different microbial domains/kingdoms were structured by different ecological processes, with homogeneous selection as the major process for all of them. Additionally, bacteria and fungi were critically shaped by drift, and protists by drift and homogeneous dispersal. Among various factors, temperature was important in shaping the temporal patterns of microbial β-diversity. The fluctuation in temperature was strongly associated with fungi and protists, resulting in high drift of community composition. This study demonstrated that community assembly processes governed the dynamic seasonal β-variations of intertidal microbiomes, expanding our understanding from spatial ecology.</p>","PeriodicalId":73516,"journal":{"name":"ISME communications","volume":"5 1","pages":"ycaf025"},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2025-02-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11879246/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143560354","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ISME communicationsPub Date : 2025-02-14eCollection Date: 2025-01-01DOI: 10.1093/ismeco/ycaf031
Harikumar R Suma, Pierre Stallforth
{"title":"Pleiotropic regulation of bacterial toxin production and Allee effect govern microbial predator-prey interactions.","authors":"Harikumar R Suma, Pierre Stallforth","doi":"10.1093/ismeco/ycaf031","DOIUrl":"10.1093/ismeco/ycaf031","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Bacteria are social organisms, which are constantly exposed to predation by nematodes or amoebae. To counteract these predation pressures, bacteria have evolved a variety of potent antipredator strategies. Bacteria of the genus <i>Pseudomonas</i>, for instance, evade amoebal predation by the secretion of amoebicidal natural products. The soil bacterium <i>Pseudomonas fluorescens</i> HKI0770 produces pyreudione alkaloids that can kill amoebae. Even though the mode of action of the pyreudiones has been elucidated, the spatiotemporal dynamics underlying this predator-prey interaction remain unknown. Using a combination of microscopy and analytical techniques, we elucidated the intricate relationship of this predator-prey association. We used the chromatic bacteria toolbox for intraspecific differentiation of the amoebicide-producing wildtype and the non-producing mutant within microcosms. These allow for variations in nutrient availability and the emergence of predation-evasion strategies of interacting microorganisms. Imaging of the co-cultures revealed that the amoebae initially ingest both the non-producer as well as the toxin-producer cells. The outcomes of predator-prey interactions are governed by the population size and fitness of the interacting partners. We identified that changes in the cell density coupled with alterations in nutrient availability led to a strong Allee effect resulting in the diminished production of pyreudione A. The loss of defense capabilities renders <i>P. fluorescens</i> HKI0770 palatable to amoebae. Such a multifaceted regulation provides the basis for a model by which predator-prey populations are being regulated in specific niches. Our results demonstrate how the spatiotemporal regulation of bacterial toxin production alters the feeding behavior of amoeba.</p>","PeriodicalId":73516,"journal":{"name":"ISME communications","volume":"5 1","pages":"ycaf031"},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2025-02-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11904905/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143626940","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ISME communicationsPub Date : 2025-02-14eCollection Date: 2025-01-01DOI: 10.1093/ismeco/ycaf029
Gihong Park, Hans G Dam
{"title":"Multiple defense is an effective antipredator strategy in dinoflagellates.","authors":"Gihong Park, Hans G Dam","doi":"10.1093/ismeco/ycaf029","DOIUrl":"10.1093/ismeco/ycaf029","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Phytoplankton have evolved myriad defenses against predators; yet, studies that simultaneously test for defense fitness costs and benefits are rare. We tested for relative fitness costs and benefits of defense in the marine dinoflagellate <i>Alexandrium catenella</i> using a framework that relates growth rates of prey genotypes (strains) that differed in constitutive toxin production (low, moderate, and high) to predator (copepod) concentration. Our approach is based on a novel molecular technique that allows one to disentangle the effect of predation mortality from the cell growth reduction due to toxin production. Results show that the strain with the highest constitutive toxin production was the only one that expressed inducible toxin production-a strategy that paid off as its fitness benefit outweighed its cost. Surprisingly, the moderate toxin strain that derived the highest relative fitness benefit increased cell division rate (akin to compensatory growth) and decreased cell size, while keeping its volume-specific toxin production constant in response to predation. These results suggest an effective antipredator defense portfolio.</p>","PeriodicalId":73516,"journal":{"name":"ISME communications","volume":"5 1","pages":"ycaf029"},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2025-02-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11894931/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143607346","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ISME communicationsPub Date : 2025-02-13eCollection Date: 2025-01-01DOI: 10.1093/ismeco/ycae141
Lin-Lin Xu, Shelby E McIlroy, Yueqiong Ni, Isis Guibert, Jiarui Chen, Ulisses Rocha, David M Baker, Gianni Panagiotou
{"title":"Chemical pollution drives taxonomic and functional shifts in marine sediment microbiome, influencing benthic metazoans.","authors":"Lin-Lin Xu, Shelby E McIlroy, Yueqiong Ni, Isis Guibert, Jiarui Chen, Ulisses Rocha, David M Baker, Gianni Panagiotou","doi":"10.1093/ismeco/ycae141","DOIUrl":"10.1093/ismeco/ycae141","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Microbial communities in marine sediments contribute significantly to the overall health and resiliency of marine ecosystems. However, increased human disturbance undermines biodiversity and, hence, natural functionality provided by marine sediments. Here, through a deep shotgun metagenomics sequencing of the sediment microbiome and COI metabarcoding of benthic metazoans, we demonstrate that >50% of the microorganisms' and metazoan's taxonomic variation can be explained by specific chemical pollution indices. Interestingly, there was a significant correlation between the similarity in microbiome communities' taxonomical and functional attributes and the similarity of benthic metazoans community composition. Furthermore, mediation analysis was conducted to evaluate the microbiome-mediated indirect effect, suggesting that microbial species and functions accounted for 36% and 26%, respectively, of the total effect of pollution on the benthic metazoans. Our study introduces a multi-level perspective for future studies in urbanized coastal areas to explore marine ecosystems, revealing the impact of pollution stress on microbiome communities and their critical biogeochemical functions, which in turn may influence macrofaunal composition.</p>","PeriodicalId":73516,"journal":{"name":"ISME communications","volume":"5 1","pages":"ycae141"},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2025-02-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11851482/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143506554","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ISME communicationsPub Date : 2025-02-13eCollection Date: 2025-01-01DOI: 10.1093/ismeco/ycaf030
Sascha M B Krause, Naomi I van den Berg, Kristof Brenzinger, Hans Zweers, Paul L E Bodelier
{"title":"Beyond methane consumption: exploring the potential of methanotrophic bacteria to produce secondary metabolites.","authors":"Sascha M B Krause, Naomi I van den Berg, Kristof Brenzinger, Hans Zweers, Paul L E Bodelier","doi":"10.1093/ismeco/ycaf030","DOIUrl":"10.1093/ismeco/ycaf030","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Microbial methane-consuming communities significantly impact biogeochemical processes and greenhouse gas emissions. In this study, we explored secondary metabolites produced by methane-oxidizing bacteria (MOB) and their ecological roles. We analyzed the volatile profiles of four MOB strains under controlled conditions and conducted a meta-analysis using high-quality genomes from 62 cultured MOB strains and 289 metagenome-assembled genomes to investigate their potential for producing secondary metabolites. Results show species-specific volatile production, such as germacrene by <i>Methylobacter luteus</i>, which may play a role in the regulation of environmental methane consumption. The meta-analysis revealed that biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) for terpenes and β-lactones were more prevalent in the <i>Methylocystaceae</i> and/or <i>Beijerinckiaceae</i> families, while aryl polyene BGCs were dominant in the <i>Methylococcaceae</i> family, reflecting habitat-specific adaptations. These findings advance our understanding of the metabolic capabilities of MOB and underscore the importance of integrating experimental data with genomic and metabolomic analyses to elucidate their ecology, environmental interactions, and contributions to methane cycling.</p>","PeriodicalId":73516,"journal":{"name":"ISME communications","volume":"5 1","pages":"ycaf030"},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2025-02-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11964084/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143775194","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ISME communicationsPub Date : 2025-02-12eCollection Date: 2025-01-01DOI: 10.1093/ismeco/ycaf026
Jari Temmermans, Marie Legein, Ilaria Checchia, Giovanna E Felis, Wenke Smets, Reet Karise, Sarah Lebeer
{"title":"Agricultural practices and pollinators modulate the anthosphere microbiome.","authors":"Jari Temmermans, Marie Legein, Ilaria Checchia, Giovanna E Felis, Wenke Smets, Reet Karise, Sarah Lebeer","doi":"10.1093/ismeco/ycaf026","DOIUrl":"10.1093/ismeco/ycaf026","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The flower microbiome is pivotal in plant health, influencing reproductive success, fruit quality, and pathogen vulnerability. However, the impact of intensified agricultural practices on these microbial communities remains to be understood. This study examines how specific agricultural practices influence the bacterial composition of the strawberry anthosphere, focusing on cultivation intensification. Intensified systems were defined by practices such as indoor glasshouse substrate-based cultivation, increased use of plant protection products, larger cultivation areas, and reliance on managed pollinators. Using citizen science and V4 16S rRNA gene sequencing, we found that flowers in these more intensively managed systems had lower bacterial diversity, more variable microbiomes, and loss of core taxa such as <i>Sphingomonas</i> and <i>Pseudomonas</i>. To determine if pollinators could help mitigate these effects, we conducted exclusion experiments. In a tunnel system, we observed that foraging pollinators facilitated the dispersal of specific bacteria, such as <i>Staphylococcus</i> and <i>Pseudomonas</i>, and increased flower bacterial richness. However, in an open field, foraging pollinators had no significant impact. Our findings highlight the significant impact of cultivation intensification on the anthosphere microbiome and suggest that pollinators may play a role in restoring microbiome diversity. This research fills a critical gap in understanding how agricultural practices shape plant microbiomes and underscores the potential for microbe-based strategies to improve plant health in intensively managed systems.</p>","PeriodicalId":73516,"journal":{"name":"ISME communications","volume":"5 1","pages":"ycaf026"},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2025-02-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12118460/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144176091","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ISME communicationsPub Date : 2025-02-11eCollection Date: 2025-01-01DOI: 10.1093/ismeco/ycaf019
Alejandra Ordonez, Usman Hussain, Marine C Cambon, Peter N Golyshin, Jim Downie, James E McDonald
{"title":"Evaluating agar-plating and dilution-to-extinction isolation methods for generating oak-associated microbial culture collections.","authors":"Alejandra Ordonez, Usman Hussain, Marine C Cambon, Peter N Golyshin, Jim Downie, James E McDonald","doi":"10.1093/ismeco/ycaf019","DOIUrl":"10.1093/ismeco/ycaf019","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Microbial isolation methods are crucial for producing comprehensive microbial culture collections that reflect the richness and diversity of natural microbiotas. Few studies have focused on isolation of plant-associated microbiota, with even less focus on forest trees. Here, we tested two isolation methods, (i) agar plating and (ii) dilution-to-extinction, for isolation of microbiota from leaf, stem, and root/rhizosphere tissues of oak trees. Microbial isolates obtained (culture-dependent) and the endogenous oak microbiota of the source tissue samples (culture-independent) were characterized by 16S rRNA gene and ITS community profiling. We found that the type of growth medium, incubation conditions, and sample type inoculated onto agar influenced the number of isolates and taxonomic richness of the isolates obtained. Most bacterial and fungal ASVs obtained from isolation-based approaches were only obtained using one of the two isolation methods, with only 12% of the ASVs detected in both. Moreover, the isolation methods captured microorganisms not detected by culture-independent analysis of the microbiota, suggesting these approaches can complement culture-independent analysis by enriching low-abundant taxa. Our results suggest that dilution-to-extinction and agar-plating approaches captured distinct fractions of the oak microbiota, and that a combination of both isolation methods was required to produce taxonomically richer microbial culture collections.</p>","PeriodicalId":73516,"journal":{"name":"ISME communications","volume":"5 1","pages":"ycaf019"},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2025-02-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11878766/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143560297","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ISME communicationsPub Date : 2025-02-11eCollection Date: 2025-01-01DOI: 10.1093/ismeco/ycaf024
Sripoorna Somasundaram, Zhongtang Yu
{"title":"Internal transcribed spacers enable species-level Metataxonomic analysis of ciliated protozoa.","authors":"Sripoorna Somasundaram, Zhongtang Yu","doi":"10.1093/ismeco/ycaf024","DOIUrl":"10.1093/ismeco/ycaf024","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Traditional morphology-based ciliate classification is often time-consuming and inaccurate, necessitating molecular approaches. Although 18S rRNA gene sequencing is widely used for taxonomic analyses of ciliates, its high degree of conservation makes it challenging to achieve species-level resolution. This study explores the potential of internal transcribed spacers (ITS1 and ITS2) and the 28S rRNA gene to improve taxonomic resolution beyond that offered by 18S rRNA gene in free-living and host-associated ciliates. A comparative analysis of ITS, the 18S, and 28S rRNA gene sequences retrieved from public databases indicated that ITS regions exhibit greater inter- and intra-specific sequence dissimilarity compared to 18S rRNA gene, supporting existing literature. We then designed universal primers targeting the ITS and 28S rRNA gene for freshwater and rumen ciliates. These primers were rigorously evaluated for their inclusiveness, specificity, and amplification efficiency using <i>in</i>-<i>silico</i> PCR, experimental PCR, followed by sequencing and metataxonomic analyses of the ciliate communities. <i>In</i>-<i>silico</i> analyses revealed inclusiveness exceeding 80%, while experimental analyses validated their specificity. Metataxonomic analyses of ciliates demonstrated that the ITS and 28S rRNA gene captured significantly greater taxonomic diversity than 18S rRNA gene. Also, ITS1 offered superior taxonomic resolution by detecting the most ciliate species that went unnoticed by the 18S rRNA gene. These findings underscore the superiority of ITS1, and to a lesser extent ITS2, as taxonomic markers for enhancing the resolution of freshwater and rumen ciliate communities. We recommend ITS1 as an alternative marker to overcome the limitations of 18S rRNA gene-based approaches in free-living and host-associated ciliate taxonomy.</p>","PeriodicalId":73516,"journal":{"name":"ISME communications","volume":"5 1","pages":"ycaf024"},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2025-02-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11879186/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143560345","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ISME communicationsPub Date : 2025-02-10eCollection Date: 2025-01-01DOI: 10.1093/ismeco/ycaf027
Martial Leroy, Melanie S Burnett, Isabelle Laurion, Peter M J Douglas, Cynthia M Kallenbach, Jérôme Comte
{"title":"Terrestrial-aquatic connectivity structures microbial communities during the formation of thermokarst lakes.","authors":"Martial Leroy, Melanie S Burnett, Isabelle Laurion, Peter M J Douglas, Cynthia M Kallenbach, Jérôme Comte","doi":"10.1093/ismeco/ycaf027","DOIUrl":"10.1093/ismeco/ycaf027","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Rising air temperatures and permafrost degradation drive the erosion of palsas (permafrost mounds mainly composed of frozen peat and ice layers) and lead to the formation of thermokarst ponds and lakes, known for their high greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This study investigates the impact of permafrost soil erosion during thermokarst lake formation on microbial community structure and its implications for GHG dynamics in a highly degraded permafrost valley (Nunavik, northern Quebec, Canada). Samples were collected from a palsa, an emerging lake connected to the palsa, surrounding peat and soil pore water, and two mature lakes which are older, stratified, and less connected to the palsa. Analysis of total and potentially active microbial communities, based on 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequence variants revealed significant changes in taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity during thermokarst lake formation. We found distinct assembly processes depending on the stage of formation. Firstly stochastics, they became more deterministic as lakes mature. Distinct methanogens/trophs communities in emerging lake led to lower CO<sub>2</sub>:CH<sub>4</sub> ratio compared to the surface of mature lakes. Which presented a greater diversity of methanogens and distinct methanotrophic communities, with acetogenic, hydrogenotrophic and methylotrophic methanogens along anaerobic an aerobic methanotrophs. Multivariate analyses revealed that selection processes were primarily driven by concentrations of CH<sub>4</sub>, CO<sub>2</sub>, and NO<sub>3</sub> <sup>-</sup>. The interplay between the nitrogen and carbon cycles appears to be pivotal in these assemblages, with nitrogen playing key roles on community structure. These findings underscore the significance of terrestrial-aquatic connectivity in shaping microbial communities and GHG emissions in thermokarst lakes.</p>","PeriodicalId":73516,"journal":{"name":"ISME communications","volume":"5 1","pages":"ycaf027"},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2025-02-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11879182/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143560363","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}