Vertebrate Decomposition Is Accelerated by Soil Microbes
Vertebrate Decomposition Is Accelerated by Soil Microbes
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DOI：
10.1128/aem.00957-14
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发表时间：
2014-08-01
影响因子：
4.4
通讯作者：
Knight, Rob
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Lauber, Christian L.;Metcalf, Jessica L.;Knight, Rob
腐肉分解是一种重要的生态自然现象，受到一系列复杂因素的影响，包括温度、湿度以及微生物、无脊椎动物和食腐动物的活动。土壤微生物作为分解者在此过程中的作用至关重要，但尚未得到充分理解，并且代表了腐肉生态学的知识空白。为了更好地确定微生物在腐肉分解中的作用和来源，实验室饲养的小鼠在（i）具有完整微生物群落的土壤或（ii）经过消毒的土壤中被分解。我们以与腐肉形态的可见变化一致的时间间隔，对三个身体部位以及底层土壤（即墓土）的微生物群落（细菌和古细菌的 16S rRNA 基因，以及真菌和微生物真核生物的 18S rRNA 基因）进行了表征。我们的结果表明，放置在微生物群落完整的土壤上的小鼠达到分解高级阶段的速度比放置在无菌土壤上的小鼠快 2 至 3 倍。在活跃和高级腐烂阶段，与腐肉皮肤和墓土相关的微生物群落在土壤类型之间（无菌与未处理）显着不同，这表明腐肉分解的基质可能部分决定微生物分解者群落。然而，我们的数据集中分解者群落（土壤与尸体相关微生物）的来源尚不清楚，这表明需要采用更大的测序深度来识别腐肉分解中分解者群落的起源。总的来说，我们的数据表明土壤微生物群落对腐肉分解速度有重大影响，并对了解腐肉生态具有重要意义。
Carrion decomposition is an ecologically important natural phenomenon influenced by a complex set of factors, including temperature, moisture, and the activity of microorganisms, invertebrates, and scavengers. The role of soil microbes as decomposers in this process is essential but not well understood and represents a knowledge gap in carrion ecology. To better define the role and sources of microbes in carrion decomposition, lab-reared mice were decomposed on either (i) soil with an intact microbial community or (ii) soil that was sterilized. We characterized the microbial community (16S rRNA gene for bacteria and archaea, and the 18S rRNA gene for fungi and microbial eukaryotes) for three body sites along with the underlying soil (i.e., gravesoils) at time intervals coinciding with visible changes in carrion morphology. Our results indicate that mice placed on soil with intact microbial communities reach advanced stages of decomposition 2 to 3 times faster than those placed on sterile soil. Microbial communities associated with skin and gravesoils of carrion in stages of active and advanced decay were significantly different between soil types (sterile versus untreated), suggesting that substrates on which carrion decompose may partially determine the microbial decomposer community. However, the source of the decomposer community (soil-versus carcass-associated microbes) was not clear in our data set, suggesting that greater sequencing depth needs to be employed to identify the origin of the decomposer communities in carrion decomposition. Overall, our data show that soil microbial communities have a significant impact on the rate at which carrion decomposes and have important implications for understanding carrion ecology.