Fig. 1

The effect of phages on bacterial and viral abundances, diversity, and community composition during the first soil microcosm experiment in CQ and FJ soils. a–d The bacterial (a) and phage (d) abundance between phage (cyan) and control (red) groups in CQ and FJ soils during the microcosm experiment. Bacterial density is based on 16S rRNA gene copy numbers per gram of dry soil (n = 5 biologically independent samples per treatment at each time point). Virus-like particles (VLPs) were counted by epifluorescence microscopy (n = 5 biologically independent samples per treatment at each time point). b Comparison of bacterial community composition between phage and control groups based on distance-based PCoA analysis at a 30-day sampling time point (n = 5 biological replicates per treatment). c The mean relative bacterial abundances at the phyla level between phage and control groups at a 30-day sampling time point. e Changes in viral community composition based on distance-based (Bray–Curtis) PCoA analysis between phage and control groups at a 30-day sampling time point (n = 3 biological replicates per treatment). f The mean relative viral abundances at the family level between phage and control groups at a 30-day sampling time point. The data in panels (b–c) and (e–f) are based on amplicon sequencing and viral metagenomic sequencing, respectively