Environmental microbiology articles from across Nature Portfolio

Complex interactions between future climate, soil microbiome, and soil cadmium negatively impact microbial activity and nutrient cycling in soil with pH below 7, which potentially affects crop production, groundwater quality, and climate feedback, according to a series of laboratory experiments conducted with sampled soil.

The low cultivability of most environmental bacteria is well known, but previous estimates focused on the proportion of cultivable cells. Here, the authors use various techniques to show, for soil and activated sludge samples, that the proportion of cultivable taxa exceeds that of cultivable cells, and identify genetic and physiological traits associated with cultivability.

Machine learning breaks through the linear limitations of traditional methods, providing deeper insights into the assembly, interactions, and mechanisms underlying microbiomes at varying soil depths under different farming practices.

This Genome Watch highlights recent metagenomic surveys that have revealed the extensive prevalence and diversity of plasmids in the human gut microbiome and discusses the challenges in accurately reporting plasmid genomes identified from metagenomic data.

Being first in a family to aim for a science career takes resilience and resourcefulness.

In this study, Hiis et al. demonstrate that the N₂O-respiring bacterial strain Cloacibacterium sp. CB-01 can reduce nitrous oxide emissions from soil.

The vast stores of high-latitude peatland carbon are thought to be resistant to microbial degradation, but a multi-omics investigation suggests this might not be the case.

Jody Deming recounts a career spent studying the cold-loving bacterial genus Colwellia.

To select the best postdoctoral fellows for their labs, principal investigators assess scientific qualifications and more.