Asset Details
Do you wish to reserve the book?
Protists as catalyzers of microbial litter breakdown and carbon cycling at different temperature regimes
Hey, we have placed the reservation for you!
By the way, why not check out events that you can attend while you pick your title.
Oops! Something went wrong.
Looks like we were not able to place the reservation. Kindly try again later.
Are you sure you want to remove the book from the shelf?
Protists as catalyzers of microbial litter breakdown and carbon cycling at different temperature regimes
Do you wish to request the book?
Protists as catalyzers of microbial litter breakdown and carbon cycling at different temperature regimes
Please be aware that the book you have requested cannot be checked out. If you would like to checkout this book, you can reserve another copy
We have requested the book for you!
Your request is successful and it will be processed during the Library working hours. Please check the status of your request in My Requests.
Oops! Something went wrong.
Looks like we were not able to place your request. Kindly try again later.
Journal Article
Protists as catalyzers of microbial litter breakdown and carbon cycling at different temperature regimes
2021
Overview
Soil bacteria and fungi are key drivers of carbon released from soils to the atmosphere through decomposition of plant-derived organic carbon sources. This process has important consequences for the global climate. While global change factors, such as increased temperature, are known to affect bacterial- and fungal-mediated decomposition rates, the role of trophic interactions in affecting decomposition remains largely unknown. We designed synthetic microbial communities consisting of eight bacterial and eight fungal species and tested the influence of predation by a model protist,
Physarum polycephalum
, on litter breakdown at 17 and 21 °C. Protists increased CO
2
release and litter mass loss by ~35% at 17 °C lower temperatures, while they only had minor effects on microbial-driven CO
2
release and mass loss at 21 °C. We found species-specific differences in predator–prey interactions, which may affect microbial community composition and functioning and thus underlie the impact of protists on litter breakdown. Our findings suggest that microbial predation by fast-growing protists is of under-appreciated functional importance, as it affects decomposition and, as such, may influence global carbon dynamics. Our results indicate that we need to better understand the role of trophic interactions within the microbiome in controlling decomposition processes and carbon cycling.
