New preprint links microbial metabolism to organic matter chemistry

In the preprint “Microbial carbon metabolism is linked to organic matter chemistry across soil systems” , Daniel asked the questions if differences in organic matter chemistry help explain differences in microbial carbon metabolism that he previously observed across a geoclimatic gradient of 33 Chilean temperate grassland soils. To answer this question, we combined measurements of microbial growth and respiration with high-resolution molecular characterization of soil organic matter. Across the soils studied, we found consistent links between bulk microbial carbon processing and the molecular composition of organic matter, suggesting that organic matter chemistry is an important constraint on how microbes allocate carbon between growth and CO₂ production. We are especially grateful for the collaboration with Oliver Lechtenfeld and Jan Kaesler at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ, Leipzig), who enabled the FT-ICR-MS analyses that were essential for this study, and for the collaboration with Sebastian Dötterl at ETHZ, who initiated the research on the Chile grassland gradient.