Soil proteogenomics uncover microbial strategies for soil depth-specific carbon cycling under whole-soil warming conditions
Abstract
Soils are Earth’s largest carbon reservoir, yet microbial mechanisms controlling decomposition, and their warming response, remain poorly resolved, especially in subsoils. Using genome-resolved proteogenomics within a replicated whole-soil warming experiment (0–90 cm, +4 °C, 7.5 years) we map microbial traits, their depth stratification, and warming responses. Depth is the dominant driver of microbial community and trait structure. Depth-wise, metabolism converge on low-molecular-weight and C1 compounds, challenging glucose-centric models, with surface soils enriched in methanol oxidation and deep soils in alcohol fermentation, CO oxidation and N₂ fixation. Abundant sialidases in deep soils implicate glycoproteins as a key carbon source. Warming effects are smaller and decrease over time but are depth-specific: surface soils show enhanced amino sugar and sugar alcohol transport, phosphorus mobilization, and stress tolerance, whereas mid- and deep soils exhibit stimulated C1 metabolism, CO oxidation, and altered nitrogen turnover. These depth-specific microbial trait shifts may critically influence soil carbon–climate feedbacks.
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BibTeX
@article{karaoz2026soil,
title = {{Soil proteogenomics uncover microbial strategies for soil depth-specific carbon cycling under whole-soil warming conditions}},
author = {Ulas Karaoz and Ricardo J. E. Alves and Nikola Tolic and Rosalie K. Chu and Carrie Nicora and Jason Toyoda and Emiley Eloe-Fadrosh and Margaret S. Torn and Eoin L. Brodie},
journal = {Nature Communications},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1038/s41467-026-78137-0},
url = {https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-78137-0},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Soil proteogenomics uncover microbial strategies for soil depth-specific carbon cycling under whole-soil warming conditions
AU - Ulas Karaoz
AU - Ricardo J. E. Alves
AU - Nikola Tolic
AU - Rosalie K. Chu
AU - Carrie Nicora
AU - Jason Toyoda
AU - Emiley Eloe-Fadrosh
AU - Margaret S. Torn
AU - Eoin L. Brodie
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/13
JO - Nature Communications
DO - 10.1038/s41467-026-78137-0
UR - https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-78137-0
AB - Soils are Earth’s largest carbon reservoir, yet microbial mechanisms controlling decomposition, and their warming response, remain poorly resolved, especially in subsoils. Using genome-resolved proteogenomics within a replicated whole-soil warming experiment (0–90 cm, +4 °C, 7.5 years) we map microbial traits, their depth stratification, and warming responses. Depth is the dominant driver of microbial community and trait structure. Depth-wise, metabolism converge on low-molecular-weight and C1 compounds, challenging glucose-centric models, with surface soils enriched in methanol oxidation and deep soils in alcohol fermentation, CO oxidation and N₂ fixation. Abundant sialidases in deep soils implicate glycoproteins as a key carbon source. Warming effects are smaller and decrease over time but are depth-specific: surface soils show enhanced amino sugar and sugar alcohol transport, phosphorus mobilization, and stress tolerance, whereas mid- and deep soils exhibit stimulated C1 metabolism, CO oxidation, and altered nitrogen turnover. These depth-specific microbial trait shifts may critically influence soil carbon–climate feedbacks.
SN - 2041-1723
ER -