Soil microbiology articles from across Nature Portfolio

Carbohydrate binding modules (CBMs) are non-catalytic domains found within multi-modular carbohydrate-active enzymes like glycoside hydrolases. Here, the authors show the crystal structures of two CBM family 92 members, which use three different surface binding sites to bind to β-glucans.

Prompt physiological reactivation after rainfall pulses may be key for microbial survival in arid ecosystems. Here, the authors use stable isotope tracers, single-cell NanoSIMS and metatranscriptomics to shed light on how desert biocrust microbial communities respond to rewetting.

Diverse bacteria can use the low levels of hydrogen and carbon monoxide present in the air as energy sources for growth and survival. Here, Leung et al. show that ability is also found in thermophilic archaea of the order Sulfolobales.

This study reveals a unique microbial nitrogen cycling process in Antarctica’s coastal regions, with nitrification playing a significant role. The research notably identifies comammox Nitrospira clade B as a key driver of this process.

Decomposer microbiomes are universal across cadavers regardless of environmental conditions, and they use complex cross-feeding and interkingdom interactions to break down organic matter.

In this study, Liu et al. demonstrate that the T7SS of the rhizobacterium Bacillus velezensis SQR9 and its effector protein YukE cause iron leakage in plant roots to support root colonization.

This study set out to increase our understanding of how viruses might mediate responses of microbial communities to climate warming.

Khan et al. show that mycelial nutrients can promote bacterial biodegradation of hexachlorocyclohexane pesticide in nutrient-deprived habitats.

Two studies report how soil microbiota adapts after wildfires and soil warming.