In a subarctic climate, the seasonal shifts in temperature, precipitation, and plant cover drive the temporal changes in the microbial communities in the topsoil, forcing soil microbes to adapt or decline. Many organisms, such as mound-building ants, survive the cold winter owing to the favorable microclimate in their nest mounds. We have previously shown that the microbial communities in the nest of the ant Formica exsecta are significantly different from those in the surrounding bulk soil. In the current study, we identified taxa, which were consistently present in the nests over a study period of three years. Some taxa were also significantly enriched in the nest samples compared with spatially corresponding reference soils. We show that the bacterial communities in ant nests are temporally stable across years, whereas the fungal communities show greater variation. It seems that the activities of the ants contribute to unique biochemical processes in the secluded nest environment, and create opportunities for symbiotic interactions between the ants and the microbes. Over time, the microbial communities may come to diverge, due to drift and selection, especially given the long lifespan (up to 30 years) of the ant colonies.

中文翻译：

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蚁蚁（膜翅目：蚁科）巢穴中细菌和真菌群落的时间和空间组成

在亚北极气候中，温度、降水和植物覆盖的季节性变化驱动表土中微生物群落的时间变化，迫使土壤微生物适应或减少。许多生物，例如筑丘蚂蚁，由于巢穴中的小气候有利，在寒冷的冬天幸存下来。我们之前已经表明，蚂蚁Formica exsecta巢中的微生物群落与周围大块土壤中的显着不同。在当前的研究中，我们确定了在三年的研究期间一直存在于巢穴中的分类群。与空间对应的参考土壤相比，巢样本中的一些分类群也显着富集。我们表明，蚂蚁巢中的细菌群落在时间上是稳定的，而真菌群落则表现出更大的变化。蚂蚁的活动似乎有助于在僻静的巢穴环境中进行独特的生化过程，并为蚂蚁与微生物之间的共生相互作用创造机会。随着时间的推移，由于漂移和选择，微生物群落可能会出现分歧，特别是考虑到蚁群的寿命很长（长达 30 年）。