Isoprene accounts for about half of total biogenic volatile organic compound emissions globally, and as a climate active gas it plays a significant and varied role in atmospheric chemistry. Terrestrial plants are the largest source of isoprene, with willow (Salix) making up one of the most active groups of isoprene producing trees. Bacteria act as a biological sink for isoprene and those bacteria associated with high isoprene-emitting trees may provide further insight into its biodegradation.
ResultsA DNA-SIP experiment incubating willow (Salix fragilis) leaves with13C-labelled isoprene revealed an abundance ofComamonadaceae, Methylobacterium, MycobacteriumandPolaromonasin the isoprene degrading community when analysed by 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. Metagenomic analysis of13C-enriched samples confirmed the abundance ofComamonadaceae, Acidovorax, Polaromonas, VariovoraxandRamlibacter. MycobacteriumandMethylobacteriumwere also identified after metagenomic analysis and aMycobacteriummetagenome-assembled genome (MAG) was recovered. This contained two complete isoprene degradation metabolic gene clusters, along with a propane monooxygenase gene cluster. Analysis of the abundance of the alpha subunit of the isoprene monooxygenase,isoA,in unenriched DNA samples revealed that isoprene degraders associated with willow leaves are abundant, making up nearly 0.2% of the natural bacterial community.
ConclusionsAnalysis of the isoprene degrading community associated with willow leaves using DNA-SIP and focused metagenomics techniques enabled recovery of the genome of an active isoprene-degradingMycobacteriumspecies and provided valuable insight into bacteria involved in degradation of isoprene on the leaves of a key species of isoprene-emitting tree in the northern hemisphere.
", "keywords": ["Salix fragilis", "2. Zero hunger", "0301 basic medicine", "570", "0303 health sciences", "isoprene monooxygenase", "Isoprene", "Climate", "isoA", "15. Life on land", "Microbiology", "630", "QR1-502", "6. Clean water", "Environmental sciences", "03 medical and health sciences", "Willow tree", "13. Climate action", "Isoprene monooxygenase", "GE1-350", "willow tree", "isoprene", "climate", "DNA stable isotope probing", "Research Article"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/81258/1/Published_Version.pdf"}, {"href": "https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1186/s40793-021-00386-x.pdf"}, {"href": "https://doi.org/10.1186/s40793-021-00386-x"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Environmental%20Microbiome", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1186/s40793-021-00386-x", "name": "item", "description": "10.1186/s40793-021-00386-x", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1186/s40793-021-00386-x"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2021-08-26T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1007/s10021-013-9650-7", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-05-31T06:55:35Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2013-02-21", "title": "Stimulation Of Different Functional Groups Of Bacteria By Various Plant Residues As A Driver Of Soil Priming Effect", "description": "The turnover of organic matter in soil depends on the activity of microbial decomposers. However, little is known about how modifications of the diversity of soil microbial communities induced by fresh organic matter (FOM) inputs can regulate carbon cycling. Here, we investigated the decomposition of two 13C labeled crop residues (wheat and alfalfa) and the dynamics of the genetic structure and taxonomic composition of the soil bacterial communities decomposing 13C labeled FOM and native unlabeled soil organic matter (SOM), respectively. It was achieved by combining the stable isotope probing method with molecular tools (DNA genotyping and pyrosequencing of 16S rDNA). Although a priming effect (PE) was always induced by residue addition, its intensity increased with the degradability of the plant residue. The input of both wheat and alfalfa residues induced a rapid dynamics of FOM-degrading communities, corresponding to the stimulation of bacterial phyla which have been previously described as copiotrophic organisms. However, the dynamics and the identity of the bacterial groups stimulated depended on the residue added, with Firmicutes dominating in the wheat treatment and Proteobacteria dominating in the alfalfa treatment after 3\u00a0days of incubation. In both treatments, SOM-degrading communities were dominated by Acidobacteria, Verrucomicrobia, and Gemmatimonadetes phyla which have been previously described as oligotrophic organisms. An early stimulation of SOM-degrading populations mainly belonging to Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes groups was observed in the alfalfa treatment whereas no change occurred in the wheat treatment. Our findings support the hypothesis that the succession of bacterial taxonomic groups occurring in SOM- and FOM-degrading communities during the degradation process may be an important driver of the PE, and consequently of carbon dynamics in soil.", "keywords": ["0301 basic medicine", "2. Zero hunger", "570", "0303 health sciences", "[SDE.MCG]Environmental Sciences/Global Changes", "bacterial diversity", "[SDV.SA.SDS]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Agricultural sciences/Soil study", "15. Life on land", "[SDV.MP.BAC]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Microbiology and Parasitology/Bacteriology", "630", "soil", "[SDE.MCG] Environmental Sciences/Global Changes", "03 medical and health sciences", "pyrosequencing", "[SDU.STU.GC]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Geochemistry", "soil organic matter", "carbon cycle", "[SDU.STU.GC] Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Geochemistry", "[SDV.MP.BAC] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Microbiology and Parasitology/Bacteriology", "[SDV.SA.SDS] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Agricultural sciences/Soil study", "stable isotope probing"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-013-9650-7"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Ecosystems", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1007/s10021-013-9650-7", "name": "item", "description": "10.1007/s10021-013-9650-7", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1007/s10021-013-9650-7"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2013-02-22T00:00:00Z"}}], "links": [{"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "This document as GeoJSON", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items?keywords=stable+isotope+probing&f=json", "hreflang": "en-US"}, {"rel": "alternate", "type": "text/html", "title": "This document as HTML", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items?keywords=stable+isotope+probing&f=html", "hreflang": "en-US"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection URL", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main", "hreflang": "en-US"}, {"type": "application/geo+json", "rel": "first", "title": "items (first)", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items?keywords=stable+isotope+probing&", "hreflang": "en-US"}, {"rel": "last", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "items (last)", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items?keywords=stable+isotope+probing&offset=2", "hreflang": "en-US"}], "numberMatched": 2, "numberReturned": 2, "distributedFeatures": [], "timeStamp": "2026-05-31T10:01:37.451636Z"}