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Litter quality controls the earthworm microbiome in cropping fields

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Abstract

Background and aims

Agriculture is using litter inputs (such as straw) as an alternative to inorganic fertilization; however, little is known about how these inputs can alter the microbiome of our soils. Earthworms are major ecosystem engineers and play a critical role in decomposing litter in terrestrial ecosystems, assisted by their gut microbiomes. However, very little is known about how litter types and combinations, and their associated quality (labile vs recalcitrant), regulate the microbiome of earthworms.

Methods

Here, we conducted a 42-day microcosm experiment to investigate the influence of two litter (straw) types, with contrasting recalcitrance, and its combination in driving the microbiome associated with different earthworm compartments, including soils, casts and guts. In each compartment, samples were collected every 14 days, and the microbiome was measured by16S rRNA amplicon sequencing.

Results

We found that the labile peanut straw initially decreased bacterial richness with this effect being diluted with time. Litter quality and earthworm compartment independently and significantly affect the resultant bacterial community composition (P ≤ 0.01). Litter inputs also resulted in unique microbiomes, which differ across compartments, including soils, casts and guts.

Conclusion

Litter quality can result in contrasting soil and earthworms’ microbiomes in cropping fields, and these may act as indicators of management story with consequences for the conservation of soil microbiomes and fertility under litter fertilization.

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Data availability

The datasets presented in this study can be found in online repositories. The accession number can be found https://www.ncbi.nlm. nih.gov/, PRJNA902939.

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Funding

Yao-Qin Sun was sponsored by the China Scholarship Council (CSC NO. 202306760079) as post-doctoral fellow. M.D-B. acknowledges support from TED2021-130908B-C41/AEI/10.13039/501100011033/Unión Europea NextGenerationEU/PRTR and from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation for the I + D + i project PID2020-115813RA-I00 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033.

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Author notes

  1. Yao-Qin Sun

    Present address: College of Resources and Environment, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China

    Yao-Qin Sun, Jun Liu & Peng Cai

  2. College of Resources and Environment, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China

    Yupeng Wu, Jun Liu & Peng Cai

  3. State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, China

    Dong Zhu

  4. Laboratorio de Biodiversidad y Funcionamiento Ecosistémico, Instituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiología de Sevilla (IRNAS), CSIC, Av. Reina Mercedes 10, E-41012, Sevilla, Spain

    Yao-Qin Sun & Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo

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  2. Dong Zhu
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Contributions

Yao-Qin Sun designed the experiment. Yao-Qin Sun and Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo analyzed the data and made figures. Yao-Qin Sun and Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo wrote the manuscript. Dong Zhu, Yupeng Wu, Jun Liu and Peng Cai offered helpful comments. All co-authors contributed to the draft and revision of the manuscript.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Yao-Qin Sun or Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo.

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All the authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Sun, YQ., Zhu, D., Wu, Y. et al. Litter quality controls the earthworm microbiome in cropping fields. Plant Soil (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-024-06631-9

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