High diversity but limited expression of biosynthetic gene clusters in a peatland microbial community.

Peatland microbial communities harbor nearly 10,000 biosynthetic gene clusters, but only 9-27% are actively expressed in situ, highlighting limited biosynthetic activity.

• Why it matters: Understanding BGC expression is crucial for revealing microbial roles in carbon cycling and natural product biosynthesis in peatlands, yet their in situ activity remains poorly characterized.
• What they did: Meta-omics analysis of seven peatland metagenomes identified extensive BGC diversity across taxa, with most lacking close references, and assessed their expression levels and links to carbon processing.
• The result: Limited BGC expression correlates with active carbohydrate metabolism, especially glycoside hydrolases, suggesting secondary metabolism supports carbon cycling rather than a shared microbial state.