Extreme effects of drought on composition of the soil bacterial community and decomposition of plant tissue

et al. 2019

Preprint

Background: The shade represents one of the major environmental limitations for turfgrass growth. Shade influences plant growth and alters plant metabolism, yet little is known about how shade affects the structure of rhizosphere soil microbial communities and the role of soil microorganisms in plant shade responses. In this study, a glasshouse experiment was conducted to examine the impact of shade on the growth and photosynthetic capacity of two contrasting shadetolerant turfgrasses, shade-tolerant dwarf lilyturf (Ophiopogon japonicus, OJ) and shade-intolerant perennial turf-type ryegrass (Lolium perenne, LP). We also examined soil-plant feedback effects on shade tolerance in the two turfgrass genotypes. The composition of the soil bacterial community was assayed using high-throughput sequencing. Results: OJ maintained higher photosynthetic capacity and root growth than LP under shade stress, thus OJ was found to be more shade-tolerant than LP. Shade-intolerant LP responded better to both shade and soil microbes than shade-tolerant OJ. The shade and live soil decreased LP growth, but increased biomass allocation to shoots in the live soil. The plant shade response index of LP is higher in live soil than sterile soil, driven by weakened soilplant feedback under shade stress. In contrast, there was no difference in these values for OJ under similar shade and soil treatments. Shade stress had little impact on the diversity of the OJ and the LP bacterial communities, but instead impacted their composition. The OJ soil bacterial communities were mostly composed of Proteobacteria and Acidobacteria. Further pairwise fitting analysis showed that a positive correlation of shade-tolerance in two turfgrasses and their bacterial community compositions. Several soil properties (NO3--N, NH4+-N, AK) showed a tight coupling with several major bacterial communities under shade stress. Moreover, OJ shared core bacterial taxa known to promote plant growth and confer tolerance to shade stress, which suggests common principles underpinning OJ-microbe interactions. Conclusion: Soil microorganisms mediate plant responses to shade stress via plant-soil feedback and shade-induced change in the rhizosphere soil bacterial community structure for OJ and LP plants. These findings emphasize the importance of understanding plant-soil interactions and their role in the mechanisms underlying shade tolerance in shade-tolerant turfgrasses.3 Background Light provides energy for photosynthesis, modulating plant growth, development, and morphogenesis [1]. Shade stress adversely impacts chlorophyll content, chloroplast ultrastructure, photosynthetic processes, and plant morphology [2][3][4][5]. Urban greening currently employs a combination of trees, shrubs and grass, resulting in an increase in shaded lawn area. As a result, shade stress presents a major challenge to turf grass growth in urban environments. It has been estimated that 20-25% of all turf grass in the USA [6], and 50% of turf grass in China, are subjected to varying degrees of shade [...

Section: Plant Shade Tolerance Is Related To Bacterial Community Compsupporting

confidence: 92%

Effects of shade stress on turfgrasses morphophysiology and rhizosphere soil bacterial communities

et al. 2019

Preprint

“…In both OJ and LP, we found that shade stress had little impact on bacterial richness and soil community diversity. This is consistent with other studies showing that community diversity is not significantly impacted by drought [24,25]. Similar results have been reported in salt stress demonstrating that increasing salinity has no effect on total bacterial community richness [26].…”

Section: Plant Shade Tolerance Is Related To Bacterial Community Compsupporting

confidence: 92%

Effects of shade stress on morphophysiology and rhizosphere soil bacterial communities of two contrasting shade-tolerant turfgrasses

et al. 2019

Preprint

Background: Shade presents one of the major abiotic limitations for turfgrass growth. Shade influences plant growth and alters plant metabolism, yet little is known about how shade affects the structure of rhizosphere soil microbial communities and the role of soil microorganisms in plant shade responses. In this study, a glasshouse experiment was conducted to examine the impact of shade stress on the growth and photosynthetic capacity of two contrasting shade-tolerant turfgrasses, shade-tolerant dwarf lilyturf (Ophiopogon japonicus, OJ) and shade-intolerant perennial turf-type ryegrass (Lolium perenne, LP). We also examined soil-plant feedback effects on shade tolerance in the two turfgrass genotypes. Bacterial community composition was assayed using high-throughput sequencing.Results: Our physiochemical data showed that under shade stress, OJ maintained higher photosynthetic capacity and root growth, thus OJ was found to be more shade-tolerant than LP. Shade-intolerant LP responded better to both shade and soil microbes than shade-tolerant OJ.Shade and live soil decreased LP growth but increased biomass allocation to shoots in the live soil.The plant shade response index of LP is higher in the live soil than sterile soil, driven by weakened soil-plant feedback under shade stress. In contrast, there was no difference in these values for OJ under similar shade and soil treatments. Illumina sequencing data revealed that shade stress had little impact on the diversity of the OJ and LP's bacterial communities, but instead impacted the composition of bacterial communities. The bacterial communities were mostly composed of Proteobacteria and Acidobacteria in OJ soil. Further pairwise fitting analysis showed that a positive correlation of shade-tolerance in two turfgrasses and their bacterial community compositions. Several soil properties (NO3--N, NH4+-N, AK) showed a tight coupling with several major bacterial communities under shade stress, indicating that they are important drivers determining bacterial community structures. Moreover, OJ shared core bacterial taxa known to promote plant growth and confer tolerance to shade stress, which suggests common principles underpinning OJ-microbe interactions.Conclusion: Plant shade tolerance is mediated by soil-plant feedback and shade-induced changes in

“…Plants and their root-associated microbial communities are strongly interlinked, as a result, perturbations in the abiotic stress directly or indirectly influence plants, their associated microbial communities as well as the interaction between these organisms [8] . In both OJ and LP, we found that shade stress had little impact on bacterial richness and soil community diversity, which is consistent with other studies showing that community diversity is not significantly impacted by drought [14,15].…”

Section: Plant Shade Tolerance Is Related To Bacterial Community Compsupporting

confidence: 92%

Effects of shade stress on morphophysiology and rhizosphere soil bacterial communities of two contrasting shade-tolerant turfgrasses

et al. 2019

Preprint

Background: Perturbations in the abiotic stress directly or indirectly affect plants and root-associated microbial communities. Shade stress presents one of the major abiotic limitations for turfgrass growth, as light availability is severely reduced under a leaf canopy. Studies have shown that shade stress influences plant growth and alters plant metabolism, yet little is known about how it affects the structure of rhizosphere soil bacterial communities. In this study, a glasshouse experiment was conducted to examine the impact of shade stress on the physiology of two contrasting shade-tolerant turfgrasses and their rhizosphere soil microbes. Shade-tolerant dwarf lilyturf (Ophiopogon japonicus, OJ) and shade-intolerant perennial turf-type ryegrasss (Lolium perenne, LP) were used. Bacterial community composition was assayed using high-throughput sequencing. Results: Our physiochemical data showed that under shade stress, OJ maintained higher photosynthetic capacity and root growth, thus OJ was found to be more shade-tolerant than LP. Illumina sequencing data revealed that shade stress had little impact on the diversity of the OJ and LP’s bacterial communities, but instead impacted the composition of bacterial communities. The bacterial communities were mostly composed of Proteobacteria and Acidobacteria in OJ soil. Further pairwise fitting analysis showed that a positive correlation of shade-tolerance in two turfgrasses and their bacterial community compositions. Several soil properties (NO3--N, NH4+-N, AK) showed a tight coupling with several major bacterial communities under shade stress, indicating that they are important drivers determining bacterial community structures. Moreover, OJ shared core bacterial taxa known to promote plant growth and confer tolerance to shade stress, which suggests common principles underpinning OJ-microbe interactions. Conclusion: OJ was more shade-tolerant than LP. Shifts in rhizosphere soil bacterial community structure play a vital role in shade-tolerance of OJ plants.