2026-08-21T01:03:08Zhttps://docta.ucm.es/rest/oai/request

oai:docta.ucm.es:20.500.14352/1391162026-08-19T00:03:31Zcom_20.500.14352_14col_20.500.14352_15

Aridity-related differences in soil elemental ratios reshape microbial functional traits across global biomes Li, Chunkai Feng, Youzhi Sáez-Sandino, Tadeo Xiong, Chao Eldridge, David J. Gross, Nicolas Le Bagousse-Pinguet, Yoann Ochoa, Victoria Gozalo, Beatriz Guirado, Emilio Zhou, Guiyao García-Gómez, Miguel Valencia Gómez, Enrique Berdugo Vega, Miguel Asensio, Sergio Martínez-Valderrama, Jaime Mendoza, Betty Josefina Berhe, Asmeret A. Cutler, Nick A. Abades, Sebastian Alcántara, Julio Alfaro, Fernando Arroyo, Antonio I. Barrett, Matt Bastida, Felipe Blaum, Niels Boldgiv, Bazartseren Bowker, Matthew Branquinho, Cristina Hart, Stephen C. Deák, Balázs Durán, Jorge Espinosa, Carlos Ivan Fajardo, Alex Fraser, Lauchlan H. Gallardo, Antonio García Velázquez, Laura Geissler, Katja Grebenc, Tine Gusman Moltanvan, Elizabeth Kindermann, Liana Köbel, Melanie Laanisto, Lauri le Roux, Peter C. Liancourt, Pierre Liang, Jinsong Linstädter, Anja Louw, Michelle A. Macek, Petr Maggs-Kölling, Gillian Makhalanyane, Thulani P. Manzaneda, Antonio J. Marais, Eugene Montesinos, Daniel Mora, Juan P. Moreno, Gerardo Muñoz-Rojas, Miriam Mussery, Amir Unuk Nahberger, Tina Nair, Girish R. Neuhauser, Sigrid Plaza, Cesar Pueyo, Yolanda Rey, Pedro J. Rey, Ana de los Ríos, Asunción Rodríguez, Alexandra Rodriguez Lozano, Borja Roman, Raul C. Ruppert, Jan Salah, Ayman Serôdio, Joana Siles, José A. Singh, Jay Travers, Samantha Undrakhbold, Sainbileg Valkó, Orsolya Vivas, María Wang, Lixin Williams, Mark A. Zaady, Eli Maestre, Fernando T. Singh, Brajesh K. Delgado-Baquerizo, Manuel Aridity alters soil carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) stoichiometry, yet the implications of these processes for soil microbial functional traits and potentials at the genomic level remain poorly synthesized. Here we combine measurements of soil C, N and P pools and ratios with shotgun metagenomes from 200 natural ecosystems spanning major biomes worldwide. Across sites, increased aridity is associated with lower soil C:N and N:P (and C:P) ratios and with a coordinated shift in microbial functional potential. Genes linked to catabolic resource acquisition—including carbohydrate-active enzymes and pathways for degradation of plant litter and organophosphorus compounds—are declined as C becomes relatively scarce. In contrast, genes supporting anabolic investment in growth and drought resistance, such as RNA transcription, protein synthesis and intracellular transport, are increased. These patterns indicate that aridity-related change in soil elemental ratios is coupled to a broad shift from catabolic to anabolic strategies in soil microbiomes. By linking soil elemental ratios to microbial functional traits across biomes, our study provides a framework for anticipating how climate-driven drying may reorganize microbial metabolism with consequences for carbon and nutrient cycling. 2026-08-18T14:36:45Z 2026-08-18T14:36:45Z 2026-08-18T14:36:45Z 2026-06-20 journal article https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/139116 2041-1723 10.1038/s41467-026-73215-9 eng info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/AEI/Plan Estatal de Investigación Científica y Técnica y de Innovación 2021-2023/RYC2022-035226-I/ES/Forestry and global change/ info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/AEI/Plan Estatal de Investigación Científica y Técnica y de Innovación 2021-2023/RYC2021-031797-I/ES/Abrupt shifts and global ecosystem thresholds/ info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/MCIN/Proyectos I+D+i/PID2020-115813RA-I00 info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/MCIN/Proyectos I+D+i/PID2020-114942RB-I00 info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/H2020/101028323/EU/MICROBIOCLIM info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/FP7/647038/EU/BIODESERT info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/MCIN/Proyectos I+D+i/PID2021-123097OA-I00 info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/MCIN/Proyectos I+D+i/PID2024-161692OB-C33 Li, C., Feng, Y., Sáez-Sandino, T., Xiong, C., Eldridge, D. J., Gross, N., Le Bagousse-Pinguet, Y., Ochoa, V., Gozalo, B., Guirado, E., Zhou, G., García-Gómez, M., Valencia, E., Berdugo, M., Asensio, S., Martínez-Valderrama, J., Mendoza, B. J., Berhe, A. A., Cutler, N. A., … Delgado-Baquerizo, M. (2026). Aridity-related differences in soil elemental ratios reshape microbial functional traits across global biomes. Nature Communications, 17, 8224. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-73215-9 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ open access Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Nature Research