Bacteria rather than fungi mediate the chemodiversity of dissolved organic matter in a mudflat intertidal zone

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) in natural ecosystems is intimately associated with microbial communities. However, it remains unclear whether the diversity patterns followed by microbes can be transmitted to DOM compounds. Considering the structural properties of DOM compounds and the roles of microbes in ecosystems, we hypothesized that bacteria tended to be more closely associated with DOM compounds than fungi. To test the above hypothesis and bridge this knowledge gap, the diversity patterns and ecological processes for the DOM compounds, and the bacterial and fungal communities in a mudflat intertidal zone were comparatively investigated. As a result, spatial scaling patterns followed by microbes, including the diversity-area and distance-decay relationships, were also observed for DOM compounds. Lipid-like and aliphatic-like molecules comprised the major DOM compounds associated with environmental factors. Both the alpha- and beta-chemodiversity of DOM compounds were significantly associated with the diversity of bacterial communities, but not fungal communities. Co-occurrence ecological network analysis suggested that DOM compounds were more frequently associated with bacteria than fungi. Further, consistent community assembly patterns were observed for DOM and bacterial communities, but not fungal communities. Integrating multiple lines of evidence, this study demonstrated that bacteria rather than fungi mediated the chemodiversity of DOM in the mudflat intertidal zone. This study elucidates the spatial patterns of complex dissolved organic matter (DOM) pools in the intertidal ecosystem, shedding light on the intricate relationship between DOM compounds and bacterial communities.