Next Article in Journal
Risk Factors and Ocular Health Associated with Toxoplasmosis in Quilombola Communities
Previous Article in Journal
Bacillus subtilis FZU103 Promotes Growth in Micropterus salmoides, Accompanied by Modulation of Gut Microbiota, Enhanced Liver Antioxidants and Digestive Enzyme Activity
Previous Article in Special Issue
Evaluation of Soil Amelioration Effects of Different Afforestation Measures in Alpine Sandy Land: A Case Study of the Gonghe Basin
 
 
Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
Journals
Microorganisms
Volume 14
Issue 1
10.3390/microorganisms14010094
microorganisms-logo
Submit to this Journal Review for this Journal Propose a Special Issue
► Article Menu

Article Menu

share Share announcement Help format_quote Cite
first_page
settings
Order Article Reprints
Font Type:
Arial Georgia Verdana
Font Size:
Aa Aa Aa
Line Spacing:
Column Width:
Background:
This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Article

Predicted Bacterial Metabolic Landscapes of the Sumaco Volcano: A Picrust2 Analysis of 16S rRNA Data from Amazonian Ecuador

by
Pablo Jarrín-V
1,*,
Julio C. Carrión-Olmedo
1,
Pamela Loján
1,
Daniela Reyes-Barriga
1,
María Lara
1,
Andrés Oña
1,
Cristian Quiroz-Moreno
2,
Pablo Castillejo
3,
Gabriela N. Tenea
4,
Magdalena Díaz
5,
Pablo Monfort-Lanzas
6,7,8 and
C. Alfonso Molina
9
1
Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad, Quito 170506, Ecuador
2
Department of Horticulture and Crop Science, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
3
Grupo de Investigación en Biodiversidad, Medio Ambiente y Salud (BIOMAS), Universidad de Las Américas, Quito 170530, Ecuador
4
Biofood and Nutraceutics Research and Development Group, Faculty of Engineering in Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Universidad Técnica del Norte, Ibarra 100150, Ecuador
5
Facultad de Ingeniería Química, Instituto de Investigación en Zoonosis-CIZ, Universidad Central del Ecuador, Quito 170129, Ecuador
6
Institute of Integrative Systems Biology (I2SysBio), University of Valencia and CSIC, 46010 Valencia, Spain
7
Institute of Medical Biochemistry, Biocenter, Medical University Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
8
Institute of Bioinformatics, Biocenter, Medical University Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
9
Facultad Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Instituto de Investigación en Zoonosis-CIZ, Universidad Central del Ecuador, Quito 170129, Ecuador
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Microorganisms 2026, 14(1), 94; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms14010094 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 29 November 2025 / Revised: 21 December 2025 / Accepted: 26 December 2025 / Published: 1 January 2026
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Diversity, Function, and Ecology of Soil Microbial Communities)
Review Reports Versions Notes

Abstract

The Sumaco volcano in Ecuador, which has a distinct geological origin from the Andes and is located in the Amazon basin, offers an opportunity to study untouched microbiomes. We explored comparative patterns of abundance from predicted functional profiling in soil samples collected along the elevation and sulfur gradients on its slopes. Using 16S rRNA gene metabarcoding, we inferred metagenome functional profiles, contrasting sample groups by altitude or soil sulfur concentration. We inferred that high-altitude communities may have higher predicted abundance for anaerobic metabolism (crotonate fermentation), coenzyme B12 synthesis, and degradation of diverse carbon sources (sugars and octane). High-sulfur soils were associated with an inferred enrichment of pathways for degrading complex organic compounds and nitrogen metabolism, reflecting adaptation to unique geochemical conditions. In contrast, low-sulfur soils are consistent with a higher predicted abundance of glycerol degradation. Within the limitation imposed by the potential weak associations of the applied predicted functional profiling to actual gene content, we propose that the inferred metabolic changes represent different ecological strategies for resource acquisition, energy generation, and stress tolerance, and they are optimized for varying conditions in this unique volcanic ecosystem. Our findings highlight how environmental gradients shape soil microbiome functional diversity and offer insights into microbial adaptation in Sumaco’s exceptional geochemistry within the Amazon. Further efforts linking functional predictions back to specific taxa will offer a complete ecological perspective of the microbiome exploration in the Sumaco volcano.
Keywords: Sumaco; microbiome; metabolism; altitude; sulfur; PICRUSt2; adaptation Sumaco; microbiome; metabolism; altitude; sulfur; PICRUSt2; adaptation

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Jarrín-V, P.; Carrión-Olmedo, J.C.; Loján, P.; Reyes-Barriga, D.; Lara, M.; Oña, A.; Quiroz-Moreno, C.; Castillejo, P.; Tenea, G.N.; Díaz, M.; et al. Predicted Bacterial Metabolic Landscapes of the Sumaco Volcano: A Picrust2 Analysis of 16S rRNA Data from Amazonian Ecuador. Microorganisms 2026, 14, 94. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms14010094

AMA Style

Jarrín-V P, Carrión-Olmedo JC, Loján P, Reyes-Barriga D, Lara M, Oña A, Quiroz-Moreno C, Castillejo P, Tenea GN, Díaz M, et al. Predicted Bacterial Metabolic Landscapes of the Sumaco Volcano: A Picrust2 Analysis of 16S rRNA Data from Amazonian Ecuador. Microorganisms. 2026; 14(1):94. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms14010094

Chicago/Turabian Style

Jarrín-V, Pablo, Julio C. Carrión-Olmedo, Pamela Loján, Daniela Reyes-Barriga, María Lara, Andrés Oña, Cristian Quiroz-Moreno, Pablo Castillejo, Gabriela N. Tenea, Magdalena Díaz, and et al. 2026. "Predicted Bacterial Metabolic Landscapes of the Sumaco Volcano: A Picrust2 Analysis of 16S rRNA Data from Amazonian Ecuador" Microorganisms 14, no. 1: 94. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms14010094

APA Style

Jarrín-V, P., Carrión-Olmedo, J. C., Loján, P., Reyes-Barriga, D., Lara, M., Oña, A., Quiroz-Moreno, C., Castillejo, P., Tenea, G. N., Díaz, M., Monfort-Lanzas, P., & Molina, C. A. (2026). Predicted Bacterial Metabolic Landscapes of the Sumaco Volcano: A Picrust2 Analysis of 16S rRNA Data from Amazonian Ecuador. Microorganisms, 14(1), 94. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms14010094

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Metrics

Article metric data becomes available approximately 24 hours after publication online.
Back to TopTop