Integrated network analysis reveals the importance of microbial interactions for maize growth

Abstract

Microbes play a critical role in soil global biogeochemical circulation and microbe-microbe interactions have also evoked enormous interests in recent years. Utilization of green manures can stimulate microbial activity and affect microbial composition and diversity. However, few studies focus on the microbial interactions or detect the key functional members in communities. With the advances of metagenomic technologies, network analysis has been used as a powerful tool to detect robust interactions between microbial members. Here, random matrix theory-based network analysis was used to investigate the microbial networks in response to four different green manure fertilization regimes (Vicia villosa, common vetch, milk vetch, and radish) over two growth cycles from October 2012 to September 2014. The results showed that the topological properties of microbial networks were dramatically altered by green manure fertilization. Microbial network under milk vetch amendment showed substantially more intense complexity and interactions than other fertilization systems, indicating that milk vetch provided a favorable condition for microbial interactions and niche sharing. The shift of microbial interactions could be attributed to the changes in some major soil traits and the interactions might be correlated to plant growth and production. With the stimuli of green manures, positive interactions predominated the network eventually and the network complexity was in consistency with maize productivity, which suggested that the complex soil microbial networks might benefit to plants rather than simple ones, because complex networks would hold strong the ability to cope with environment changes or suppress soil-borne pathogen infection on plants. In addition, network analyses discerned some putative keystone taxa and seven of them had directly positive interactions with maize yield, which suggested their important roles in maintaining environmental functions and in improving plant growth.

Azithromycin exposure induces transient microbial composition shifts and decreases the airway microbiota resilience from PM2.5 stress in healthy adults: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

“…The functional stability of microbial communities depends on the complicated microbe-microbe interactions [41]. Studies about soil microbiota con rm that the network complexity is consistent with the ability to cope with the diverse environmental changes [42]. After exposure to azithromycin, the airway microbiota networks in our study become simple, indicating the attenuated resilience.…”

Azithromycin exposure induces transient microbial composition shifts and decreases the airway microbiota resilience from PM2.5 stress in healthy adults: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trail.

“…The functional stability of microbial communities depends on the complicated microbe-microbe interactions [40]. Studies about soil microbiota confirm that the network complexity is consistent with the ability to cope with the diverse environmental changes [41]. After exposure to azithromycin, the airway microbiota networks in our study become simple, indicating the attenuated resilience.…”

Wheat dwarfing influences selection of the rhizosphere microbiome

“…On the other hand, members of Bacteroidetes accounted for less than 7% of module hubs and connectors and Verrucomicrobia members accounted for 16.67% in tall cultivars. Module hub and connector OTUs have been proposed as putative keystone taxa and ecological generalists, critical for maintaining community structure and function; peripherals on the other hand being considered isolated specialists 41,[69][70][71][72][73][74] . As such, Proteobacteria seem to be critical in maintaining the structure and functionality of bacterial communities in wheat rhizosphere for both tall and semi dwarf cultivars and these results are in accordance with data provided by Oberholster et al 71 , who also found Proteobacteria to be important keystone taxa for sorghum and sunflower rhizospheres.…”