Whole-Soil Proteogenomics Uncover Hidden Microbial Strategies for Carbon Cycling Across the Soil Profile Under Deep Soil Warming

Whole-Soil Proteogenomics Uncover Hidden Microbial Strategies for Carbon Cycling Across the Soil Profile Under Deep Soil Warming | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Whole-Soil Proteogenomics Uncover Hidden Microbial Strategies for Carbon Cycling Across the Soil Profile Under Deep Soil Warming Eoin Brodie, Ulas Karaoz, Ricardo Alves, Nikola Tolic, Rosalie Chu, and 4 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7993478/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Soils are Earth’s largest carbon reservoir, yet microbial mechanisms controlling decomposition, and their warming response, remain poorly resolved, especially in subsoils. Using genome-resolved proteogenomics within a replicated whole-soil warming experiment (0–90 cm, +4°C, 7.5 years) we mapped microbial traits, their depth stratification, and warming responses. Depth was the dominant driver of microbial community and trait structure. Depth-wise, metabolism converged on low-molecular-weight and C₁ compounds, challenging glucose-centric models, with surface soils enriched in methanol oxidation and deep soils in alcohol fermentation, CO oxidation and N₂ fixation. Abundant sialidases in deep soils implicate glycoproteins as a key carbon source. Warming effects were smaller and decreased over time but were depth-specific: surface soils showed enhanced amino sugar and sugar alcohol transport, phosphorus mobilization, and stress tolerance, whereas mid- and deep soils exhibited stimulated C₁ metabolism, CO oxidation, and altered nitrogen turnover. These depth-specific microbial trait shifts may critically influence soil carbon–climate feedbacks. Biological sciences/Microbiology/Environmental microbiology/Soil microbiology Earth and environmental sciences/Biogeochemistry/Carbon cycle Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files SuppFigTableLegends.docx Supplementary Figure and Table Legends KaraozetalSuppTables.xlsx Supplementary Tables Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7993478","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":543367647,"identity":"677c57be-5566-453f-b218-8e304f882877","order_by":0,"name":"Eoin 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