Soil Mineral Composition and Salinity Are the Main Factors Regulating the Bacterial Community Associated with the Roots of Coastal Sand Dune Halophytes

Abstract

Soil salinity and mineral deficiency are major problems in agriculture. Many studies have reported that plant-associated microbiota, particularly rhizosphere and root microbiota, play a crucial role in tolerance against salinity and mineral deficiency. Nevertheless, there are still many unknown parts of plant–microbe interaction, especially regarding their role in halophyte adaptation to coastal ecosystems. Here, we report the bacterial community associated with the roots of coastal sand dune halophytes Spinifex littoreus and Calotropis gigantea, and the soil properties that affect their composition. Strong correlations were observed between root bacterial diversity and soil mineral composition, especially with soil Calcium (Ca), Titanium (Ti), Cuprum (Cu), and Zinc (Zn) content. Soil Ti and Zn content showed a positive correlation with bacterial diversity, while soil Ca and Cu had a negative effect on bacterial diversity. A strong correlation was also found between the abundance of several bacterial species with soil salinity and mineral content, suggesting that some bacteria are responsive to changes in soil salinity and mineral content. Some of the identified bacteria, such as Bacillus idriensis and Kibdelosporangium aridum, are known to have growth-promoting effects on plants. Together, the findings of this work provided valuable information regarding bacterial communities associated with the roots of sand dune halophytes and their interactions with soil properties. Furthermore, we also identified several bacterial species that might be involved in tolerance against stresses. Further work will be focused on isolation and transplantation of these potential microbes, to validate their role in plant tolerance against stresses, not only in their native hosts but also in crops.

Diversity of bacterial communities in the Sundarbans mangrove, Bangladesh, with special focus on pathogens affecting aquatic organisms

“…The previous study investigated the structure of sedimentary bacterial communities in mangroves depends on environmental factors such as pH, salinity, organic matter content, and heavy metal pollution on such communities [40] . The association of soil minerals with bacteria appeared to influence biogeochemical cycling by altering nutrient availability in a mangrove environment [101] . In this study, the 16S rRNA genes revealed the numbers of observed species and bacterial diversity and richness in all sampling sites in different from each other.…”

Insights into Bacterial Communities and Diversity of Mangrove Forest Soils along the Upper Gulf of Thailand in Response to Environmental Factors

“…The impact of environmental factors on coastal and marine bacterial communities was reported in previous studies. Soil mineral compositions, including Ca, Ti, Cu, and Zn, were validated as the main factors that shape the bacterial communities associated with the roots of halophytes native to an Indonesian coastal sand dune [ 19 ]. The bacterial communities of seawater along the Upper Gulf of Thailand coastline were mainly determined by salinity, total N, and total P [ 13 ].…”

“…Soil minerals could affect bacterial growth in a taxon-specific manner. The association of minerals with bacteria appeared to influence biogeochemical cycling by altering nutrient availability in a mangrove environment [ 19 ].…”

“…By using next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology, Hu et al [ 3 ] found that the Proteobacteria , Chloroflexi , Firmicutes , and Bathyarchaeota were the dominant bacterial groups in the mangroves of south China and soil Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, and Pb were the major factors affecting the bacterial diversity. Soil mineral compositions, especially Ca, Ti, Cu, and Zn, had strong correlations with the diversity and communities of bacteria associated with the roots of halophytes native to an Indonesian coastal sand dune [ 19 ]. Proteobacteria , Firmicutes , Actinobacteria , Bacteroidetes , and Cyanobacteria were the widespread, dominant phyla in Indian mangrove surface water.…”

Differences in bacterial composition between vascular epiphyte and parasitic plants living on the same host plants

“…Plant-associated microbial communities are varied in diversity and composition across different tissues, individuals, and species (Dastogeer et al 2020;Wu et al 2020;Vu et al 2022). Plants and microbes are likely to interact interchangeably; while plants might produce certain metabolites to regulate microbial composition, the microbes may also directly affect the metabolomic and metabolism of the host (Pascale et al 2019;Korenblum et al 2020).…”