File uploads: We have fixed an issue which caused file uploads to fail. We apologise for the inconvenience it may have caused.

There is a newer version of the record available.

Published April 18, 2023 | Version v2
Dataset Open

Universal microbial network decomposes mammals despite varied climate, location, and seasonal influence

  • 1. University of Tennessee-UTK
  • 2. Colorado State University

Description

Microbial breakdown of organic material is one of the most important processes on earth, yet enormous knowledge gaps exist about its controls. We demonstrate that a universal, inter-kingdom microbial network assembles in response to nutrient-rich, terrestrial mammalian decomposition, despite selection effects of location, climate and season. We created the first metagenome-assembled genome library from mammalian decomposition-associated soils and combined it with metabolomics to identify a microbial decomposer network that interacts by cross-feeding to efficiently metabolize labile decomposition products. The key fungal and bacterial decomposers appear unique to the breakdown of terrestrial cadavers, and are rare in relative abundance across non-decomposition environments. Blow flies are suggested as an important decomposer vector and the observed lockstep of microbial interactions underlies a robust microbial forensic tool for predicting the time since death. 

Notes

This research was primarily funded by the National Institutes of Justice, NIJ 2016-DN-BX-0194, 2015-DN-BX-K016. Additional information can be found at https://github.com/Metcalf-Lab/2016-2020-PMI-3-facility-multi-omics-study-Burcham-et-al.

Files

DRAM_output.zip

Files (1.1 GB)

Name Size Download all
md5:23ca322822cbabd2c10c778f9a16715d
873.8 MB Preview Download
md5:e2bca01db6f73509d75050a0810bd231
257.8 MB Preview Download