Microbiota recovery in a chronosquences of impoverished Cerrado soils with biosolids applications.

Mining activities put the Brazilian savannas, a global biodiversity hotspot, in danger of species and soil carbon losses. Experiments employing biosolids have been applied to rejuvenate this degraded ecosystem, but a lingering question yet to be answered is whether the microbiota that inhabits these impoverished soils can be recovered towards its initial steady state after vegetation recovery. Here, we selected an 18-year-old restoration chronosequence of biosolids-treated, untreated mining and native soils to investigate the soil microbiota recovery based on composition, phylogeny, and diversity, as well as the potential factors responsible for ecosystem recovery. Our results revealed that the soil microbiota holds a considerable recovery potential in the degraded Cerrado biome. Biosolids application not only improved soil health, but also led to 41.7 % recovery of the whole microbial community, featuring significantly higher microbiota diversity and enriched groups (e.g., Firmicutes) that benefit carbon storage compared to untreated mining and native soils. The recovered community showed significant compositional distinctions from the untreated mining or native soils, rather than phylogenetic differences, with physiochemical properties explaining 55 % of the overall community changes. This study advances our understanding of soil microbiota dynamics in response to disturbance and restoration by shedding light on its recovery associated with biosolid application in a degraded biodiverse ecosystem.

Draft Genome Sequences of Spacecraft-Associated Microbes Isolated from Six NASA Missions.

Whole-genome sequencing can be used to better understand and assess the functional abilities of microorganisms isolated from spacecraft hardware and associated surfaces for planetary protection (PP) purposes. We sequenced 191 isolates from 6 spaceflight missions with PP requirements and identified them using Illumina-based sequencing methods and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry.