DNA viral community enhances microbial carbon fixation capacity via auxiliary metabolic genes in contaminated soils
Soil is the largest organic matter repository on land and the virosphere is an essential component of soil carbon cycling. While a few carbon-related auxiliary metabolic genes (AMGs) in viruses are reported to potentially influence the hosts, the effects of virus-host interactions on soil carbon fixation, particularly in carbon-deficient contaminated soils, need further validation. Here, we explore the impact of viruses on carbon fixation in contaminated soils from 58 metal mining areas across eastern China. Eleven different functional categories of carbon fixation AMGs are identified via metagenomic analysis in 323 contaminated soil samples. Enzymatic activities of three key AMGs (i.e., rbcL, ppdK and TKT) are experimentally characterized, indicating the positive role of these genes in carbon fixation. Furthermore, transcriptomic sequencing reveals that after active virus inoculation the carbon fixation genes significantly up-regulate (~73%, p < 0.05). In mesocosms with stable isotope labeling, the accumulation of <sup>13</sup>C-labeled organic carbon significantly increases (~10%, p < 0.01). Our results provide theoretical and experimental evidence for incorporating viral contributions into the assessments of carbon fixation, and improve the understanding of viral roles within the processes of carbon cycling.
Authors
- Yuanqing Chao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0534-346X)
- Rongliang Qiu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9469-5274)
- Ying‐heng Fei (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3542-4634)
- Kengbo Ding (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8392-7420)
- Shizhong Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6288-2377)
- Shunkang Zhou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0764-9390)
- Yulu Yang
- Yetao Tang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0803-4240)
- Zekai Feng
- Yue Cao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9444-4707)
- Zhepu Ruan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7713-9399)
- Chang Hu
- Zhihong H. Xu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6768-0720)
- Ziwu Chen
- Jun Lu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9828-3640)
- Tianrui Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7780-104X)
- Ning Ling (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1250-4073)
- X. Zhong
- Wen‐Shen Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3948-0633)
- Huayuan Feng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9913-150X)
- Mengyao Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7205-7183)
- Li Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1126-3300)
- Qi Hua (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1382-3009)
- Bi Huang
- Ke Yuan
- Huan He (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-1478-8597)
- Ying Yang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-8248-2358)
Institutions
- South China Agricultural University (CN)
- Griffith University (AU)
- Sun Yat-sen University (CN)
- Guangzhou University (CN)
- Lanzhou University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2025-11-13
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-64938-2
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Bacteriophages and microbial interactions
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.72
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Sun Yat-sen University
- Fudan University
- Nanjing Agricultural University
- Higher Education Discipline Innovation Project
- National Key Research and Development Program of China
- Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation of Guangdong Province