From Genes to Fluxes: Microbial Metabolic Mechanisms Underlying the Cycling of Biogenic Elements in Soils

Soil microorganisms are the primary catalysts of the biogeochemical cycling of carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, phosphorus, and other biogenic elements. The metabolic pathways they encode ranging from carbon fixation and methanogenesis to nitrification, denitrification, sulfur oxidation, and phosphorus mineralization define the flow of nutrients through terrestrial ecosystems and shape global elemental balance. Yet, despite decades of research, the physiological and metabolic mechanisms that govern how individual microbial cells and communities perform these transformations remain incompletely understood. Recent advances in genome-resolved metagenomics, metatranscriptomics, single-cell physiology, isotopic tracing, and metabolic modeling are now opening new opportunities to connect microbial gene content, enzymatic activity, and regulatory networks to their functional output in soil environments.This Research Topic aims to advance our understanding of the metabolic and physiological foundations by which soil microorganisms drive the cycling of biogenic elements. The goal is to bring together studies that move beyond descriptive surveys to mechanistic insights linking specific pathways, enzymes, and regulatory strategies to the metabolic output of soil microbial communities. We seek contributions that illuminate how microbes sense and respond to nutrient availability, redox gradients, and environmental stressors, and how these physiological adaptations shape elemental fluxes across spatial and temporal scales.To gather further insights into the metabolic mechanisms underlying microbially driven elemental cycles in soils, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:-Microbial metabolic pathways involved in carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, and phosphorus transformations-Enzymatic and regulatory mechanisms governing biogeochemical reactions in soil microbes-Physiological adaptations of soil microorganisms to nutrient limitation, redox variation, and environmental stress-Genome-resolved approaches linking metabolic potential to ecosystem function-Cross-feeding, syntrophy, and community-level metabolic interactions in soils-Metabolic modeling and integrative omics to predict elemental fluxes-Impact of climate change, land use, or pollutants on microbial metabolism and cycling capacityBy centering the discussion on microbial physiology and metabolism, this Research Topic seeks to bridge molecular-level mechanisms with ecosystem-scale function, advancing our mechanistic understanding of how soil microorganisms shape the global cycles of life-essential elements. Topic editors: Wenliang Ju, Jie WANG, José A. Siles, Giorgia Santini Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/81089/from-genes-to-fluxes-microbial-metabolic-mechanisms-underlying-the-cycling-of-biogenic-elements-in-soils