Gene horizontal transfers and functional diversity negatively correlated with bacterial taxonomic diversity along a nitrogen gradient

Abstract

Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) mediated diversification is a critical force driving evolutionary and ecological processes. However, how HGT might relate to anthropogenic activity such as nitrogen addition, and its subsequent effect on functional diversity and cooccurrence networks remain unknown. Here we approach this knowledge gap by blending bacterial 16S rRNA gene amplicon and shotgun metagenomes from a platform of cessation of nitrogen additions and continuous nitrogen additions. We found that bacterial HGT events, functional genes, and virus diversities increased whereas bacterial taxonomic diversity decreased by nitrogen additions, resulting in a counterintuitive strong negative association between bacterial taxonomic and functional diversities. Nitrogen additions, especially the ceased one, complexified the cooccurrence network by increasing the contribution of vitamin B12 auxotrophic Acidobacteria, indicating cross-feeding. These findings advance our perceptions of the causes and consequences of the diversification process in community ecology.