Succession of the functional microbial communities and the metabolic functions in maize straw composting process

• Published in: Bioresource technology Vol. 256; pp. 333 - 341
• Main Authors: Wei, Huawei, Wang, Liuhong, Hassan, Muhammad, Xie, Bing
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.05.2018
• Subjects: bacterial communities; Bacteroidetes; biochemical pathways; carbon nitrogen ratio; Cellulosimicrobium; community structure; Composting; corn straw; humic acids; Humic substances; humus; information processing; Maize straw composting; Metabolic function; metabolism; Microbial community structures; Ochrobactrum; phosphorus; Phylogeny; Soil; Soil Microbiology; Staphylococcus; Zea mays; Maize straw composting; Microbial community structures; Humic substances; Metabolic function
• ISSN: 0960-8524; 1873-2976; 1873-2976
• DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2018.02.050

[Display omitted] •Humic acid contents in different combined humus increased after composting.•TP had the greatest influence on the microbial community structure.•Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes and Actinobacteria were the dominant phyla.•The primary functions of microbial community were explored. Illumina MiSeq sequencing and phylogenetic investigation of communities by reconstruction of unobserved states (PICRUSt) were applied to study the dynamic changes and effects of microbial community structures as well as the metabolic function of bacterial community in maize straw composting process. Results showed that humic acid contents in loosely combined humus (HA1) and stably combined humus (HA2) increased after composting and Staphylococcus, Cellulosimicrobium and Ochrobactrum possibly participated in the transformation of the process. The bacterial communities differed in different stages of the composting. Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes and Actinobacteria were reported the dominant phyla throughout the process and the relative abundance of the dominant phyla varied significantly (p < 0.05) over time. Moreover, the total phosphorus (TP) had the greatest influence on the microbial community structure among C/N ratio, available phosphorus (AP) and humic substances. Metabolism, cellular processes and environmental information processing might be the primary functions of microbial community during the composting.