Differing Roles of Bacterial and Fungal Communities in Cotton Fields by Growth Stage

Abstract

The global demand for cotton makes sustainable cotton production an important issue that can be improved by a better understanding of the influence of soil microbes on cotton growth. We collected cotton field soils at the seedling and flowering/boll-setting (FBS) stages in order to obtain soil properties and cotton growth indices. Bacterial and fungal community compositions were assessed by high-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA and internal transcribed spacer genes, respectively, after which the differences in microbial functions and their influencing factors at different growth stages were analyzed. Both the diversity and composition of soil bacterial and fungal communities were found to be significantly different between the seedling and FBS stages. Microbes in the seedling stage had significantly higher richness and biomass than those in the FBS stage. Compared with the seedling stage, the stability of the soil bacterial communities was decreased. The cotton growth indices at both the seedling and FBS stages were associated with compositional shifts in the bacterial community and but not the fungal community. The abundance of specific soil microbial taxa (e.g., Pseudarthrobacter, Thiobacillus, Cephalotrichum, Chaetomium, and Fusarium) were correlated with cotton growth indices at the seedling stage, being mainly regulated by soil salinity and nitrate content. Our results highlight the importance of soil microbial communities in mediating cotton growth and will be useful in providing better strategies for the improvement of cotton agriculture.

The relationship between shifts in the rhizosphere microbial community and root rot disease in a continuous cropping American ginseng system

“…The composition of the microbial community in the third and fourth years is close, while that in the second year is between the first year and the last two years ( Figure 3 ). NMDS shows the process of continuous and gradual change in the microbial community under the effect of plants, which is consistent with the previous research on rice (Zhang J. et al, 2018 ) and cotton (Li D. et al, 2022 ). Studies have shown that rotation can improve microbial diversity, but the mechanisms are not fully elaborated (Venter et al, 2016 ; Xie et al, 2022 ).…”

Enhancing salt tolerance and crop growth in agricultural systems: the impact of magnetized‐ionized water irrigation on soil properties, microbial communities, and cotton growth

“…35 Notably, recent research by Li et al highlighted that microbial richness and biomass exhibit significant disparities between the seedling period and subsequent flowering and boll periods. 36 Furthermore, the stability of the soil bacterial community decreases as cotton plants progress through their life cycle, particularly during the flowering and boll periods. Interestingly, alterations in the bacterial community composition are associated closely with changes in the growth indices of cotton during the seedling and flowering periods although no similar correlations were observed with fungal community composition.…”

“…Notably, recent research by Li et al . highlighted that microbial richness and biomass exhibit significant disparities between the seedling period and subsequent flowering and boll periods 36 . Furthermore, the stability of the soil bacterial community decreases as cotton plants progress through their life cycle, particularly during the flowering and boll periods.…”