Divergent microbial phosphorous acquisition strategies between active layer and permafrost deposits on the Tibetan Plateau

Abstract Phosphorous (P) is essential for mediating plant and microbial growth and thus could impact carbon (C) cycle in permafrost ecosystem. However, little is known about soil P availability and its biological acquisition strategies in permafrost environment. Based on a large‐scale survey along a ~1000 km transect, combining with shotgun metagenomics, we provided the first attempt to explore soil microbial P acquisition strategies across the Tibetan alpine permafrost region. Our results showed the widespread existence of microbial functional genes associated with inorganic P solubilization, organic P mineralization and transportation, reflecting divergent microbial P acquisition strategies in permafrost regions. Moreover, the higher gene abundance related to solubilization and mineralization as well as an increased ration of metagenomic assembled genomes (MAGs) carrying these genes were detected in the active layer, while the greater abundance of low‐affinity transporter gene ( pit ) and proportions of MAGs harbouring pit gene were observed in permafrost deposits, illustrating a stronger potential for P activation in active layer but an enhanced P transportation potential in permafrost deposits. Our results highlight multiple P‐related acquisition strategies and their differences among various soil layers should be considered simultaneously to improve model prediction for the responses of biogeochemical cycles in permafrost ecosystems to climate change. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.