Microbe-mediated biogeochemical cycles contribute to the global climate system and have
sensitive responses and feedbacks to environmental stress caused by climate change. Yet,
little is known about the effects of microbial biodiversity (ie, taxonmic and functional diversity)
on biogeochemical cycles in ecosytems that are highly sensitive to climate change. One
such sensitive ecosystem is Qinghai Lake, a high-elevation (3196 m) saline (1.4%) lake
located on the Tibetan Plateau, China. This study provides baseline information on the …

Figure 3. The carbon cycle depicted by a generalized autotroph, photohetertroph, and
heterotroph in Qinghai Lake. The numbers in boxes represent the percentage and the RNA:
DNA ratio of reads that were annotated within each metabolic pathway for sites B and E. The
key genes used to identify a pathway was Ribulose-bisphosphate carboxylase (RuBisCo):
Calvin-Benson-Bassham cycle (CBB), D-glucose 6-phosphotransferase: glycolysis, pyruvate
dehydrogenase: tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA), and cytochrome C oxidase: oxidative …