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Invertebrates support the decomposition process of plants: LOEWE-TBG research team investigates, what prerequisites their genetic make-up provides for this

A microscopically enlarged horn mite can be seen.
© Andy Murray, chaosofdelight.org
According to the study, soil animals such as horned mites (here Steganacarus sp.) could also play an important, previously overlooked role in the carbon cycle of soils.

When plants die, they are decomposed by a variety of small organisms. Until now, it was assumed that mainly fungi and bacteria were involved in this process. However, in a study published in the journal “Molecular Biology”, scientists from the LOEWE Center for Translational Biodiversity Genomics (LOEWE-TBG) in Hesse were able to show that invertebrates could also be involved in this process.

The microscopically small creatures, which also include springtails (Collembola) and horned mites (Oribatida), live in large numbers in the soil, where they break down organic substances and release nutrients. According to the latest findings, they could also be directly involved in the decomposition of dead plant material. A specific enzyme is required for the decomposition of plant cell walls. The LOEWE-TBG researchers were able to identify precisely this gene as part of detailed genome analyses of different species of springtails and horned mites. Professor Dr. Ingo Ebersberger's doctoral student and first author of the study, Hannah Mülbaier, developed new software that makes it possible to search for specific genes in genomes. This contributed significantly to the success of the study.

“New genomic analysis methods are helping us to gain important insights into this species-rich group of animals, which is difficult to record due to its small size and enormous diversity,” comments co-study leader Ingo Ebersberger, Professor of Applied Bioinformatics at the Department of Biosciences at Goethe University Frankfurt and member of the LOEWE Center TBG.

The interdisciplinary research team concludes from their analyses that invertebrate species acquired the ability to decompose cellulose very early on in their phylogenetic history. This means that they have long played an immense role in the decomposition of plant residues and in the carbon cycle of soils. For this reason, the study authors argue in favor of considering soil invertebrates as a third evolutionarily and ecologically independent group with the ability to decompose cellulose, alongside fungi and bacteria. The consideration of invertebrate species as part of the carbon cycle is crucial, as they could react differently to environmental change and thus also lead to changes in decomposition processes.