Bacterial metabolic landscapes of the Sumaco volcano: a Picrust2 analysis of 16S rRNA data from Amazonian Ecuador
Abstract
The Sumaco volcano in Ecuador, which has a distinct geological origin from the Andes and is located in the Amazon basin, offers an opportunity to study untouched microbiomes. We explored comparative patterns of abundance from predicted functional profiling in soil samples collected along elevation and sulfur gradients on its slopes. Using 16S rRNA gene metabarcoding, we estimated metagenome functional profiles, contrasting sample groups by altitude or soil sulfur concentration. We predict that high-altitude communities may have an enhanced potential for anaerobic metabolism (crotonate fermentation), coenzyme B12 synthesis, and degradation of diverse carbon sources (sugars, octane). High-sulfur soils were inferentially associated with enriched pathways for degrading complex organic compounds and nitrogen metabolism, reflecting adaptation to unique geochemical conditions. In contrast, low-sulfur soils are consistent with a higher glycerol degradation potential. Within the limitation imposed by the potential weak associations of the applied predicted functional profiling to actual gene content, we propose that the detected metabolic changes represent different ecological strategies for resource acquisition, energy generation, and stress tolerance, optimized for varying conditions in this unique volcanic ecosystem. Our findings highlight how environmental gradients shape soil microbiome functional diversity and offer insights into microbial adaptation in Sumaco's exceptional geochemistry within the Amazon. Further efforts linking functional predictions back to specific taxa will offer a complete ecological perspective of the microbiome exploration in the Sumaco volcano.