Metabolic Versatility Drives the Late-Successional Dominance of Ammonia-Oxidizing Archaea in Retreating Glacier Soils.

Ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) dominate late-successional glacier soils due to their broad metabolic capacities, increasing nitrification potential in retreating glacier forefields.

• Why it matters: Understanding the mechanisms behind microbial succession and nitrification in glacier soils is crucial for predicting nitrogen cycling changes amid climate warming, which accelerates glacier retreat.
• What they did: The study combined soil physicochemical measurements with multi-omics approaches, including qPCR, amplicon, and metagenomic sequencing across four successional stages at the Tibetan Plateau glacier forefield.
• The result: AOA's metabolic versatility, enabling cycling of multiple elements, along with environmental filtering, drives their dominance and enhances nitrification potential during ecosystem succession.