Organic-acid-derived feather hydrolysate drives soil microbiome succession toward copiotrophic and putatively plant-beneficial taxa
As circular agricultural inputs are increasingly sought, feather hydrolysate (FH), derived from keratin-rich poultry waste, has emerged as a promising fertilizer and biostimulant. However, how FH shapes soil microbiome succession over time, and what functional potential this restructuring carries, remains poorly understood. Here, we used multi-marker high-throughput sequencing of 16S, 18S, and…
Organic-acid-derived feather hydrolysate (FH), a fertilizer and biostimulant made from poultry waste, has the potential to reshape soil microbiomes. Researchers examined how FH influences soil microbial communities over 30 days, using sequencing of 16S, 18S, and ITS rDNA markers. The study revealed a rapid, repeatable succession where alpha diversity initially declined, followed by a day-1 spike of copiotrophic taxa—species that thrive in nutrient-rich environments.
This initial response was linked to an enrichment of bacterial genera previously linked to plant growth-promoting traits, such as pathogen suppression, nutrient solubilization, and the production of compounds beneficial to plants' growth and development. Although these beneficial groups experienced a decline after the initial peak, several remained significantly more abundant than in unamended soils for the entire 30-day period.
Simultaneously, FH-treated soils demonstrated a consistent decrease in the relative abundance of genera associated with potential plant pathogens. By analyzing the temporal community shifts, rrn-based life-strategy inference, and functional annotations from the scientific literature, the researchers concluded that FH acts as an ecological filter, steering the soil microbiome toward copiotrophic and putatively plant-beneficial taxa.
This study offers a timeline for understanding how FH modifies soil microbiomes and emphasizes the need for further research connecting these microbial changes to measurable outcomes like disease resistance, nutrient cycling, and plant growth across various soil environments.
Written by urgent.news from bioRxiv's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
