Investigation of soil microbiota reveals variable dominant species at different land areas in China

Soil microbiota is associated with plant growth and nutrition. Investigation of plant–soil interaction is essential for revealing the changes of microbial dynamics in the soil. Vegetation types and human activities, such as agriculture, had severely affected soil microbial structure and function. In this study, 16S rRNA were analysed to identify microbial structures in the soil. The total organic carbon (TOC) and total nitrogen (TN) in these soil samples were also analysed. TOC and TN in these soil samples were different, which might be due to different vegetation types. The main phyla in these soil samples were Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria and Acidobacteria. Furthermore, the genera in these soil groups were highly diverse, and most of the bacteria could not be assigned to any known genus. This indicated the presence of novel bacterial genera in these soil samples. A fraction of the dominant operational taxonomic units in the soil microbiota was identified, several of which played functional roles in soil nutrition. The linkage between the soil microbiota, especially the dominant species, and soil nutrients was analysed in this study. The culturomics and other omics technologies would help to isolate some novel microorganisms, which might lead to the recovery of functional microbial agents for plant growth.