Microbial polyphenol metabolism is part of the thawing permafrost carbon cycle

Bridget B. McGivern, Dylan R. Cronin, Jared B. Ellenbogen, Mikayla A. Borton, Eleanor L. Knutson, Viviana Freire-Zapata, John A. Bouranis, Lukas Bernhardt, Alma I. Hernandez, Rory M. Flynn, Reed Woyda, Alexandra B. Cory, Rachel M. Wilson, Jeffrey P. Chanton, Ben J. Woodcroft, Jessica G. Ernakovich, Malak M. Tfaily, Matthew B. Sullivan, Gene W. Tyson, Virginia I. RichAnn E. Hagerman, Kelly C. Wrighton

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

8 Scopus citations

Abstract

With rising global temperatures, permafrost carbon stores are vulnerable to microbial degradation. The enzyme latch theory states that polyphenols should accumulate in saturated peatlands due to diminished phenol oxidase activity, inhibiting resident microbes and promoting carbon stabilization. Pairing microbiome and geochemical measurements along a permafrost thaw-induced saturation gradient in Stordalen Mire, a model Arctic peatland, we confirmed a negative relationship between phenol oxidase expression and saturation but failed to support other trends predicted by the enzyme latch. To inventory alternative polyphenol removal strategies, we built CAMPER, a gene annotation tool leveraging polyphenol enzyme knowledge gleaned across microbial ecosystems. Applying CAMPER to genome-resolved metatranscriptomes, we identified genes for diverse polyphenol-active enzymes expressed by various microbial lineages under a range of redox conditions. This shifts the paradigm that polyphenols stabilize carbon in saturated soils and highlights the need to consider both oxic and anoxic polyphenol metabolisms to understand carbon cycling in changing ecosystems.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1454-1466
Number of pages13
JournalNature Microbiology
Volume9
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2024

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Microbiology
  • Immunology
  • Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology
  • Genetics
  • Microbiology (medical)
  • Cell Biology

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