Song Wen-Long, Lin Di, Chen Xia, Dai Qun, Rao Gu, Chen Ya-Jing, Chen Shuang-Lin
School of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Mausoleum Administration, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
Appl Environ Microbiol. 2025 Jun 18;91(6):e0047925. doi: 10.1128/aem.00479-25. Epub 2025 May 13.
Soil myxomycetes are crucial soil protists with important ecological functions. Yet, our understanding of their diversity patterns in managed forests and the interactions with their food is far behind other taxa. This study investigates the spatiotemporal patterns of soil myxomycetes in four northern subtropical managed forest types across seasons and aims to identify assembly processes, main predictors of myxomycete communities, and the potential interactions between myxomycetes and bacteria. Results showed that no significant difference in α diversity of myxomycete communities among forest types was observed, but a significant difference was observed in community structures. Significant differences were observed in α diversity and community structures of myxomycetes among seasons. Deterministic processes in each forest type and season dominated myxomycete community assemblies. Soil physicochemical properties and bacterial communities have a significant direct impact on the myxomycete community, while forest types, seasons, and enzyme activities have an indirect effect. There is a significant synergistic covariation between the soil myxomycete community and bacterial community. The genera of the phyla Acidobacteriota, Actinobacteriota, and Bacteroidota have a strong correlation with the richness of myxomycete genera. Overall, this study provides new insight into the diversity of soil myxomycetes and their influence by bacteria, crucial for myxomycetes ecology.IMPORTANCESoil myxomycetes are an important component of soil protists. Our study revealed for the first time the community structure of soil myxomycetes in managed forests of the northern subtropical regions and systematically investigated the seasonal variation patterns of soil myxomycetes. Meanwhile, we further investigated the potential interactions between soil myxomycetes and bacteria. This study will greatly enhance our understanding of the ecology of soil myxomycetes and their biological roles.
土壤黏菌是具有重要生态功能的关键土壤原生生物。然而，我们对其在人工林中的多样性模式以及与食物的相互作用的了解远远落后于其他生物类群。本研究调查了四种北亚热带人工林类型中土壤黏菌的时空模式，跨越不同季节，旨在确定其组装过程、黏菌群落的主要预测因子，以及黏菌与细菌之间的潜在相互作用。结果表明，各森林类型间黏菌群落的α多样性无显著差异，但群落结构存在显著差异。不同季节间黏菌的α多样性和群落结构也存在显著差异。每种森林类型和季节中的确定性过程主导了黏菌群落的组装。土壤理化性质和细菌群落对黏菌群落有显著的直接影响，而森林类型、季节和酶活性则有间接影响。土壤黏菌群落与细菌群落之间存在显著的协同共变关系。酸杆菌门、放线菌门和拟杆菌门的属与黏菌属的丰富度有很强的相关性。总体而言，本研究为土壤黏菌的多样性及其受细菌的影响提供了新的见解，这对黏菌生态学至关重要。
重要性
土壤黏菌是土壤原生生物中的重要组成部分。我们研究首次揭示了北亚热带地区人工林中土壤黏菌的群落结构，并系统地调查了土壤黏菌的季节变化模式。同时，我们进一步研究了土壤黏菌与细菌之间的潜在相互作用。本研究将极大地增进我们对土壤黏菌生态学及其生物学作用的理解。
