Abstract
Seasonal changes drive rhythmic biological cycles across ecosystems, including unvegetated tidal flats, where strong temperature shifts shape microbial activity, yet long-term microbial rhythmicity remains unexplored. Here we show, using a two-year monthly dataset comprising 864 amplicons and 288 metagenomes from mudflats and sandflats in eastern China, that microbial communities and functions exhibit clear temporal rhythmicity and spatial heterogeneity, including variation in carbon fixation potential. Rhythmicity and network analyses identify temperature as the primary environmental factor associated with seasonal microbial rhythms, while sediment type and depth modulate their strength. MAG-based and metaproteomic analyses further support sulfur-oxidizing Sulfurovum and Sulfurimonas as primary contributors to strong seasonal fluctuations of rTCA-cycle genes in deeper mudflats. This study addresses a knowledge gap regarding long-term microbial rhythmicity in unvegetated tidal flats of eastern China. The observed temperature–microbe associations highlight the potential role of microbiomes in coastal carbon cycling; however, their generality at the global scale requires further validation.
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Subjects
- Carbon cycle
- Microbial ecology
Acknowledgements
We thank Zhi-Cheng Wu, Jue-Jie Ying, Ming-Lei Wang, Hao You, Jia-Wei Gao, and Tai-Hang Deng for their support in sample collection.
Funding
This study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. U23A2034 and 32370006), the National Science and Technology Fundamental Resources Investigation Program of China (2019FY100700), and Zhejiang Provincial High-level Talent Special Support Plan (No. 2021R51008).
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Ma, KJ., Ye, YL., Fu, YH. et al. Seasonal temperature changes shape microbial community patterns and carbon‑fixing gene fluctuations in tidal flats.
Commun Earth Environ (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-026-03876-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-026-03876-3
Source: Ecology - nature.com
