Habitat Heterogeneity of Nitrogen and Phosphorus Cycling Functional Genes in Rhizosphere Microorganisms of Pinus tabuliformis in Qinling Mountains, China

• Published in: Microorganisms (Basel) Vol. 13; no. 6; p. 1275
• Main Authors: Yang, Hang, Pang, Yue, Yang, Ying, Wang, Dexiang, Wang, Yuchao
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 30.05.2025; MDPI
• Subjects: Abundance; Adaptation; Biodiversity; Bioinformatics; Climate change; Comparative analysis; Composition; ecological adaptability; Ecological adaptation; Ecological function; Environmental aspects; Environmental factors; Forests; functional genes; Functionals; Gene expression; Genes; Genetic aspects; habitat heterogeneity; Habitats; Heterogeneity; Identification and classification; Metabolism; Microbiota; Microorganisms; Mountains; Nitrate reduction; Nitrates; Nitrification; Nitrogen; Nitrogen fixation; Nitrogen-fixing microorganisms; Nitrogenation; Nutrient availability; Nutrient cycles; Nutrient transport; Organic phosphorus; P. tabuliformis; Phosphorus; Phosphorus metabolism; Physiological aspects; Pine; Plant growth; Precipitation; Qinling Mountains; Rhizosphere; Rhizosphere microorganisms; Slope environments; Soil nutrients; Transport processes; China; Qinling Mountains; ecological adaptability; P. tabuliformis; functional genes; Qinling Mountains; habitat heterogeneity
• ISSN: 2076-2607; 2076-2607
• DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms13061275

Microbial functional genes serve as the core genetic foundation driving microbial ecological functions; however, its microbial functional gene composition across varied habitats and its ecological adaptation interplay with plants remain understudied. In this study, we investigated the P. tabuliformis rhizosphere microbial functional genes which are related to N and P cycles across ridge and slope habitats between different elevational gradients, analyzed their composition and abundance, and analyzed their responses to environmental factors. Results showed that slope habitats had a significantly greater abundance of N and P cycling functional genes compared to those of ridge counterparts (p < 0.05). Specifically, slope environments showed an enhanced gene abundance associated with denitrification, nitrogen fixation, nitrification, assimilatory/dissimilatory nitrate reduction, and nitrogen transport processes, along with the superior expression of genes related to inorganic/organic phosphorus metabolism, phosphorus transport, and regulatory gene expression. These nutrient cycling gene levels were positively correlated with soil nutrient availability. Our findings revealed distinct ecological strategies: Ridge communities employ resource-conservative tactics, minimizing microbial investments to endure nutrient scarcity, whereas slope populations adopt competitive strategies through enriched high-efficiency metabolic genes and symbiotic microbial recruitment to withstand resource competition.