Bacterial Keystone Taxa Regulate Carbon Metabolism in the Earthworm Gut

Abstract

were core keystone taxa across the earthworm gut and adjacent soil and, second, that the environmental factors (pH and organic carbon) and keystone taxa strongly affected the bacterial community composition and exhibited close correlations with microbial carbon metabolism. Our results provide new insights into the community assembly of the earthworm gut microbiome and the ecological importance of potential keystone taxa in regulating carbon cycling dynamics.