Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

Environmental microbiology

Decomposer communities are universal in death

Nature Microbiology volume 9, pages 585–586 (2024)Cite this article

Subjects

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

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1: Interkingdom interactions associated with cadaver decomposition.

References

  1. Moore, J. C. et al. Ecol. Lett. 7, 584–600 (2004).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  2. Bar-On, Y. M., Phillips, R. & Milo, R. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 115, 6506–6511 (2018).

    Article  ADS  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  3. Barton, P. S., Cunningham, S. A., Lindenmayer, D. B. & Manning, A. D. Oecologia 171, 761–772 (2013).

    Article  ADS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Morant, J. et al. Ecosystems 26, 383–396 (2023).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. von Hoermann, C. et al. R. Soc. Open Sci. 9, 220555 (2022).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Burcham, Z. M. et al. Nat. Microbiol. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-023-01580-y (2024).

  7. Benbow, M. E. et al. Ecol. Monogr. 89, e01331 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Gibbs, J. P. & Stanton, E. J. Ecol. Appl. 11, 79–85 (2001).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Singh, B. et al. Front. Microbiol. 8, 2616 (2018).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  10. Bartel, S. L. et al. Trends Ecol. Evol. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2023.09.008 (2023).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by National Science Foundation awards 1845417 (to M.S.S.) and 2054716 (to L.L. and M.S.S.).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Soil & Water Systems, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, USA

    Michael S. Strickland & Laurel Lynch

Authors
  1. Michael S. Strickland
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Laurel Lynch
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Michael S. Strickland.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Strickland, M.S., Lynch, L. Decomposer communities are universal in death. Nat Microbiol 9, 585–586 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-023-01576-8

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-023-01576-8

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing Microbiology

Sign up for the Nature Briefing: Microbiology newsletter — what matters in microbiology research, free to your inbox weekly.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing: Microbiology