Impact of Temperature Elevation on Microbial Communities and Antibiotic Degradation in Cold Region Soils of Northeast China

Abstract

This study systematically investigated the effects of temperature changes on the degradation of antibiotics in soil, as well as the alterations in microbial community structure and aggregation, through a field warming experiment in a greenhouse. Compared to non-warming soil, the warming treatment significantly accelerated the degradation rate of tetracyclines during soil freezing and mitigated the impact of environmental fluctuations on soil microbial communities. The greenhouse environment promoted the growth and reproduction of a wide range of microbial taxa, but the abundance of Myxococcota was positively correlated with antibiotic concentrations in both treatments, suggesting a potential specific association with antibiotic degradation processes. Long-term warming in the greenhouse led to a shift in the assembly process of soil microbial communities, with a decrease in dispersal limitation and an increase in the drift process. Furthermore, co-occurrence network analysis revealed a more loosely structured microbial community in the greenhouse soil, along with the emergence of new characteristic taxa. Notably, more than 60% of the key taxa that connected the co-occurrence networks in both groups belonged to rare taxa, indicating that rare taxa play a crucial role in maintaining community structure and function.