Shifts in vegetation impact estuary microbiomes.

Vegetation-driven shifts in estuary microbiomes significantly alter microbial and viral communities involved in carbon, sulfur, nitrogen, and iron cycling, impacting greenhouse gas emissions.

• Why it matters: Understanding how vegetation influences microbial networks is crucial for predicting the resilience of coastal wetlands, which are vital carbon sinks threatened by climate change and habitat transformation.
• What they did: Researchers sampled sediments from different vegetation types along the Texas Gulf Coast, analyzing 491 microbial and 1,097 viral MAGs to assess community composition, metabolic pathways, and virus-host interactions.
• The result: Findings reveal vegetation-specific microbial lineages and viral genes linked to organic carbon degradation, highlighting how plant shifts can modify ecosystem functions and carbon storage capacity.