Temporal Nutrient and Microbial Functional Dynamics in a Cattle Manure Composting System Inoculated with Lactobacillus acidophilus
Source abstract
Abstract
This study presents an observational analysis of the chemical and microbial dynamics of cattle manure compost during maturation in a system inoculated with Lactobacillus acidophilus. Composting samples were collected at D15 and D60 to assess changes in key nutrient parameters and microbial community shifts from the early stage to the composting phase. At D60 in this inoculated composting system, ammonium nitrogen (NH4+-N), potassium (K), phosphorus (P), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), and total nitrogen (T-N) levels were higher than at D15, with NH4+-N measuring 813.01 and 1714.24 mg/kg at D15 and D60, respectively (p < 0.001). Microbial analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequencing showed that alpha diversity was slightly lower at D60 than at D15, although this difference was not statistically significant; in contrast, the community composition shifted toward a higher relative abundance of Firmicutes and lower relative abundances of Bacteroidetes and Proteobacteria. Mantel correlation analyses indicated strong associations between specific bacterial phyla and manure chemical properties, particularly between Firmicutes and levels of NH4+-N, chloride, and sodium. PICRUSt2-based functional prediction further suggested that mature compost samples had a higher predicted representation of genes associated with nitrogen- and energy-related pathways, including arginine and polyamine biosynthesis and butanoate fermentation. This observational study outlines how nutrient profiles, microbial communities, and PICRUSt2-predicted functional potentials change over time in a composting system amended with L. acidophilus. By documenting these characteristic patterns, our results provide a useful reference for focusing future research on specific nutrient–microbe–function linkages in lactic acid bacteria-amended composting systems, and for interpreting compost maturation in such systems within the context of sustainable agricultural practice.
Source: crossref · Quality: baseline
Research context
OpenAlex topics: Composting and Vermicomposting Techniques · Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics · Pharmaceutical and Antibiotic Environmental Impacts
SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.
Affiliations
Department of Applied Plant Science, Sangji University, Wonju-si 26339, Republic of Korea
Hoengseong Agricultural Technology Extension Center, Hoengseong 25208, Republic of Korea
Department of Smart Life Science, Sangji University, Wonju-si 26339, Republic of Korea
Funding
Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs · Ministry of Education (MOE) and the Gangwon State (G.S.), Republic of Korea
References (40)
Show source-provided references
1. Aguilar-Paredes, A., Valdés, G., Araneda, N., Valdebenito, E., Hansen, F., and Nuti, M. (2023). Microbial community in the composting process and its positive impact on the soil biota in sustainable agriculture. Agronomy, 13.10.3390/agronomy13020542 ↗
2. Microbiology of the composting process10.1016/S1478-7482(07)80006-6 ↗
3. A survey of bacteria and fungi occurring during composting and self-heating processes
4. Meng, Q., Yang, W., Men, M., Bello, A., Xu, X., Xu, B., Deng, L., Jiang, X., Sheng, S., and Wu, X. (2019). Microbial community succession and response to environmental variables during cow manure and corn straw composting. Front. Microbiol., 10.10.3389/fmicb.2019.00529 ↗
5. Higa, T., and Parr, J.F. (1994). Beneficial and Effective Microorganisms for a Sustainable Agriculture and Environment, International Nature Farming Research Center.
6. Jaffar, N.S., Jawan, R., and Chong, K.P. (2023). The potential of lactic acid bacteria in mediating the control of plant diseases and plant growth stimulation in crop production-A mini review. Front. Plant Sci., 13.10.3389/fpls.2022.1047945 ↗
7. Amer, M.N., Elmaghraby, M.M., Abdellatif, A.A., and Elmaghraby, I.M. (2024). Lactic acid bacteria for safe and sustainable agriculture. Metabolomics, Proteomics and Gene Editing Approaches in Biofertilizer Industry: Volume II, Springer.10.1007/978-981-97-2910-4_15 ↗
8. Raman, J., Kim, J.-S., Choi, K.R., Eun, H., Yang, D., Ko, Y.-J., and Kim, S.-J. (2022). Application of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) in sustainable agriculture: Advantages and limitations. Int. J. Mol. Sci., 23.10.3390/ijms23147784 ↗
9. López-Seijas, J., García-Fraga, B., da Silva, A.F., and Sieiro, C. (2019). Wine lactic acid bacteria with antimicrobial activity as potential biocontrol agents against Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici. Agronomy, 10.10.3390/agronomy10010031 ↗
10. Effect of Lactobacillus acidophilus (LB) and Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Yeast) fermentation on nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium level of poultry farm waste10.53550/EEC.2022.v28i06s.007 ↗
11. Current challenges and best practice protocols for microbiome analysis10.1093/bib/bbz155 ↗
12. Understanding host microbiome environment interactions: Insights from Daphnia as a model organism10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.152093 ↗
13. Application of multivariate statistical techniques in microbial ecology10.1111/mec.13536 ↗
14. PICRUSt2 for prediction of metagenome functions10.1038/s41587-020-0548-6 ↗
15. Influence of hanwoo (Korean native cattle) manure compost application in soil on the growth of maize (Zea mays L.)
16. Lee, J., Jo, N.-Y., Shim, S.-Y., Linh, L.T.Y., Kim, S.-R., Lee, M.-G., and Hwang, S.-G. (2023). Effects of Hanwoo (Korean cattle) manure as organic fertilizer on plant growth, feed quality, and soil bacterial community. Front. Plant Sci., 14.10.3389/fpls.2023.1135947 ↗
17. Kjeldahl method for determination of total nitrogen content of milk: Collaborative study
18. AOAC (1995). Official Methods of Analysis, Association of Official Analytical Chemists. [16th ed.].
19. Lancaster, J. (1980). Mississippi soil test method and interpretation. Mississippi Agricultural. Experiment Station Mimeograph, Mississippi State University.
20. McMurdie, P.J., and Holmes, S. (2013). phyloseq: An R package for reproducible interactive analysis and graphics of microbiome census data. PLoS ONE, 8.10.1371/journal.pone.0061217 ↗
21. Taxa: An R package implementing data standards and methods for taxonomic data10.12688/f1000research.14013.2 ↗
22. Foster, Z.S., Sharpton, T.J., and Grünwald, N.J. (2017). Metacoder: An R package for visualization and manipulation of community taxonomic diversity data. PLoS Comput. Biol., 13.10.1371/journal.pcbi.1005404 ↗
23. Package ‘vegan’
24. Package ‘vegan’
25. Package ‘ggplot2’. Create Elegant Data Visualisations Using the Grammar of Graphics
26. Package ‘pheatmap’
27. Welcome to the Tidyverse10.21105/joss.01686 ↗
28. Kassambara, A. (2018). ggpubr: ‘ggplot2’ based publication ready plots. R Package Version, 2.
29. Nie, E., Gao, D., and Zheng, G. (2020). Effects of lactic acid on modulating the ammonia emissions in co-composts of poultry litter with slaughter sludge. Bioresour. Technol., 315.10.1016/j.biortech.2020.123812 ↗
30. Highly efficient reduction of ammonia emissions from livestock waste by the synergy of novel manure acidification and inhibition of ureolytic bacteria10.1016/j.envint.2023.107768 ↗
31. Greenhouse gas reduction and nitrogen conservation during manure composting by combining biochar with wood vinegar10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.116349 ↗
32. Linares-Morales, J.R., Cuellar-Nevárez, G.E., Rivera-Chavira, B.E., Gutiérrez-Méndez, N., Pérez-Vega, S.B., and Nevárez-Moorillón, G.V. (2020). Selection of lactic acid bacteria isolated from fresh fruits and vegetables based on their antimicrobial and enzymatic activities. Foods, 9.10.3390/foods9101399 ↗
33. Minerals solubilizing and mobilizing microbiomes: A sustainable approach for managing minerals’ deficiency in agricultural soil10.1111/jam.15627 ↗
34. Al-Elwany, O.A., Mohamed, A.M., Abdelbaky, A.S., Tammam, M.A., Hemida, K.A., Hassan, G.H., El-Saadony, M.T., El-Tarabily, K.A., AbuQamar, S.F., and Abd El-Mageed, T.A. (2023). Application of bio-organic amendments improves soil quality and yield of fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.) plants in saline calcareous soil. Sci. Rep., 13.10.1038/s41598-023-45780-2 ↗
35. Zhou, J., Cheng, J., Liu, L., Luo, J., and Peng, X. (2023). Lactobacillus acidophilus (LA) fermenting astragalus polysaccharides (APS) improves calcium absorption and osteoporosis by altering gut microbiota. Foods, 12.10.3390/foods12020275 ↗
36. Biochar lowers ammonia emission and improves nitrogen retention in poultry litter composting10.1016/j.wasman.2016.12.009 ↗
37. Incorporating microbial inoculants to reduce nitrogen loss during sludge composting by suppressing denitrification and promoting ammonia assimilation10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.170000 ↗
38. Research Progress on Microbial Nitrogen Conservation Technology and Mechanism of Microorganisms in Aerobic Composting10.1007/s00248-025-02513-4 ↗
39. Zhao, Y., Li, W., Chen, L., Meng, L., and Zheng, Z. (2020). Effect of enriched thermotolerant nitrifying bacteria inoculation on reducing nitrogen loss during sewage sludge composting. Bioresour. Technol., 311.10.1016/j.biortech.2020.123461 ↗
40. Impact of phosphate limitation on PHBV production and microbial community dynamics fed with synthetic fermentation digestate10.1016/j.jenvman.2025.127759 ↗