Although Tetracladium species have traditionally been studied as aquatic saprotrophs, the growing number of metagenomic and metabarcoding reports detecting them in soil environments raises important questions about their ecological adaptability and versatility. We investigated the factors associated with the relative abundance, diversity and ecological dynamics of Tetracladium in temperate forest soils. Through amplicon sequencing of soil samples collected from 54 stands in six forest sites across the eastern United States, we identified 29 distinct Amplicon Sequence Variants (ASVs) representing Tetracladium, with large differences in relative abundance and small changes in ASV community composition among sites. Tetracladium richness was positively related to soil pH, soil temperature, total sulphur and silt content, and negatively related to plant litter quality, such as the lignin‐to‐nitrogen ratio and the lignocellulose index. Co‐occurrence network analysis indicated negative relationships between Tetracladium and other abundant fungal groups, including ectomycorrhizal and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Collectively, our findings highlight the ecological significance of Tetracladium in temperate forest soils and emphasize the importance of site‐specific factors and microbial interactions in shaping their distribution patterns and ecological dynamics.

中文翻译：

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了解 Tetracladium 物种在温带森林土壤中的生态多功能性


尽管 Tetracladium 物种传统上被作为水生腐生生物进行研究，但在土壤环境中检测到它们的宏基因组学和宏条形码报告数量不断增加，这引发了关于其生态适应性和多功能性的重要问题。我们研究了与温带森林土壤中 Tetracladium 的相对丰度、多样性和生态动态相关的因素。通过对从美国东部 6 个森林地点的 54 个林分收集的土壤样本进行扩增子测序，我们鉴定了 29 个代表四分体的不同扩增子序列变体 （ASV），这些地点之间的相对丰度差异很大，ASV 群落组成变化很小。四分体丰富度与土壤 pH 值、土壤温度、总硫和淤泥含量呈正相关，与植物凋落物质量呈负相关，例如木质素与氮的比率和木质纤维素指数。共现网络分析表明 Tetracladium 与其他丰富的真菌类群之间存在负相关，包括外生菌根真菌和丛枝菌根真菌。总的来说，我们的研究结果强调了 Tetracladium 在温带森林土壤中的生态意义，并强调了地点特异性因素和微生物相互作用在塑造其分布模式和生态动态中的重要性。