Structural variability in the bulk soil, rhizosphere, and root endophyte fungal communities of Themeda japonica plants under different grades of karst rocky desertification
“…The results were similar to previous studies, whether in temperate grasslands, soybean fields (Wilschut et al, 2019), or areas of karst rocky desertification (Tang et al, 2021), showing a relatively strong and stable interaction between plant roots and RAF (Ballauff et al, 2021;Goldmann et al, 2016). In this study, the selection effect shaped RAF communities of Mongolian pine across plant growth stages, and the plant root system built relatively stable living conditions for RAF to help RAF adapt to changing soil environments.…”
Section: Soil Properties and Stand Age As Drivers Of Fungal Communiti...supporting
China has unquestionably led efforts to 'green' drylands, but an evaluation of the large-scale effects of afforestation in desert ecosystems mediated by soil microorganisms is lacking. The ecological functions of fungi are closely related to soil and plant health. Therefore, there is a lively interest in revealing the biogeographic patterns of root-associated (RAF) and soil fungal (SF) communities of Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica, a widespread evergreen tree endemic to Northern China. We revealed the community assembly of RAF and SF of natural forest and plantations in the Hulunbuir Desert, Horqin Desert, and Mu Us Desert and investigated fungal responses to geographical location, climate factors, soil properties, and stand age at regional and local scales. The results indicated that (1) SF was more diverse than RAF. For RAF, the diversity indices in the natural forest were significantly lower than those in plantations, and ectomycorrhizal fungi (50.37%) were the predominant functional guild in the natural forest. (2) At the local scale, SF, not RAF, is more sensitive to the impacts of soil properties. More than half of the differential genera were ectomycorrhizal and endophytic fungi, such as Acephala, Cadophora, Pustularia, and Trichoderma. (3) On the regional scale, precipitation and sunshine duration were the main influences on geographical differences in the fungal community composition. Geographical location directly and significantly influences RAF diversity and structure. The effect of climate factors on SF diversity was low, but it had a shaping effect on SF structure. Our results demonstrated that the fungal communities were geographically structured, a stable relationship was established between hosts and RAF, and soil nutrients had a significant impact on SF community composition. The ecological functions of fungi are important in evaluating afforestation efforts and maintaining stability in desert ecosystems.
“…The results were similar to previous studies, whether in temperate grasslands, soybean fields (Wilschut et al, 2019), or areas of karst rocky desertification (Tang et al, 2021), showing a relatively strong and stable interaction between plant roots and RAF (Ballauff et al, 2021;Goldmann et al, 2016). In this study, the selection effect shaped RAF communities of Mongolian pine across plant growth stages, and the plant root system built relatively stable living conditions for RAF to help RAF adapt to changing soil environments.…”
Section: Soil Properties and Stand Age As Drivers Of Fungal Communiti...supporting
China has unquestionably led efforts to 'green' drylands, but an evaluation of the large-scale effects of afforestation in desert ecosystems mediated by soil microorganisms is lacking. The ecological functions of fungi are closely related to soil and plant health. Therefore, there is a lively interest in revealing the biogeographic patterns of root-associated (RAF) and soil fungal (SF) communities of Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica, a widespread evergreen tree endemic to Northern China. We revealed the community assembly of RAF and SF of natural forest and plantations in the Hulunbuir Desert, Horqin Desert, and Mu Us Desert and investigated fungal responses to geographical location, climate factors, soil properties, and stand age at regional and local scales. The results indicated that (1) SF was more diverse than RAF. For RAF, the diversity indices in the natural forest were significantly lower than those in plantations, and ectomycorrhizal fungi (50.37%) were the predominant functional guild in the natural forest. (2) At the local scale, SF, not RAF, is more sensitive to the impacts of soil properties. More than half of the differential genera were ectomycorrhizal and endophytic fungi, such as Acephala, Cadophora, Pustularia, and Trichoderma. (3) On the regional scale, precipitation and sunshine duration were the main influences on geographical differences in the fungal community composition. Geographical location directly and significantly influences RAF diversity and structure. The effect of climate factors on SF diversity was low, but it had a shaping effect on SF structure. Our results demonstrated that the fungal communities were geographically structured, a stable relationship was established between hosts and RAF, and soil nutrients had a significant impact on SF community composition. The ecological functions of fungi are important in evaluating afforestation efforts and maintaining stability in desert ecosystems.
“…For every pot, individual root samples of three A. inebrians were mixed into a composite. Further, we followed the procedure of McPherson et al [ 50 ] and Tang et al [ 51 ] to get the rhizosphere soil, and to surface sterilize the roots. The rhizosphere soil and surface-sterilized roots were used for the analysis of the bacterial community of rhizosphere soil and the endophytic bacteria of roots in E+ plants and E− plants.…”
Soil cadmium (Cd) pollution is a serious environmental problem imperiling food safety and human health. The endophyte Epichloë gansuensis can improve the tolerance of Achnatherum inebrians to Cd stress. However, it is still unknown whether and how the endophyte helps host plants build up a specific bacterial community when challenged by CdCl2. In this study, the responses of the structure and function of bacterial community and root exudates of E+ (E. gansuensis infected) and E− (E. gansuensis uninfected) plants to Cd stress were investigated. Analysis of bacterial community structure indicated that the rhizosphere bacterial community predominated over the root endosphere bacterial community in enhancing the resistance of CdCl2 in a host mediated by E. gansuensis. E+ plant strengthened the interspecific cooperation of rhizosphere bacterial species. Moreover, the analysis of root exudates demonstrated E. gansuensis and increased the contents of organic acids and amino acids under Cd stress, and most root exudates were significantly correlated with rhizosphere bacteria. These results suggested that E. gansuensis employed a specific strategy to recruit distinct rhizosphere bacterial species and relevant functions by affecting root exudates to improve the tolerance of the host to Cd stress. This study provides a firm foundation for the potential application of symbionts in improving phytostabilization efficiency.
“…As a result, the soil microbial communities in karst regions may differ from those in conventional ecosystems. Previous research has indicated that rhizosphere microorganisms play a pivotal role in facilitating the adaptation of karst plants to these challenging soil environments [45,46]. For instance, Tang et al [46] demonstrated that fungal communities in the rhizosphere contribute significantly to the adaptation of Themeda japonica to karst rocky desertification, ultimately enhancing plant growth and ecological performance in karst areas.…”
Section: Introductionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Previous research has indicated that rhizosphere microorganisms play a pivotal role in facilitating the adaptation of karst plants to these challenging soil environments [45,46]. For instance, Tang et al [46] demonstrated that fungal communities in the rhizosphere contribute significantly to the adaptation of Themeda japonica to karst rocky desertification, ultimately enhancing plant growth and ecological performance in karst areas. Similarly, a study by Xiao et al [45] revealed that in karst areas with elevated hydrothermal levels, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and diazotrophs enhance nutrient absorption and transport in plants during the vegetation recovery process.…”
Microorganisms play a pivotal role in transforming and making phosphorus (P) available in soil through various mechanisms. However, their specific contributions to alleviating P limitation and enhancing P utilization efficiency in plants within the context of a P-deficient karst ecosystem remains unclear. In this study, eco-stoichiometric methods were employed to evaluate the P utilization efficiency of plants grown in the surveyed karst forest located in Guizhou Province, China. Metagenomic sequencing was utilized to further explore the functional genes and microorganisms involved in soil P cycling. The N:P ratio for 18 out of the 20 surveyed plants exceeded 16, indicating widespread P limitation in karst plants. Among them, plants with high P utilization efficiencies (Nandina domestica Thunb.; Mahonia bodinieri Gagnep.; Pyracantha fortuneana (Maxim.) Li) exhibited higher relative abundances of genes involved in soil P cycling compared to plants with low P utilization efficiencies (Tirpitzia sinensis (Hemsl.) Hallier f.; Albizia kalkora (Roxb.) Prain; Morella rubra Lour.), indicating greater potentials within their rhizosphere microbiomes for soil P transformation. The relative abundance of these functional genes had a significant and positive effect on plant P utilization efficiencies. Structural equation modeling further indicated that microbial P cycling gene abundance directly drove the increase in plant P utilization efficiencies. Specifically, genes involved in soil organic P mineralization (G6PD, suhB, phoD, ppx) and the P uptake and transform system (pstS, pstA, pstB, pstC) contributed to the enhancement of plant P utilization efficiencies. Soil microbial communities involved in P cycling were predominately attributed to Proteobacteria (45.16%–60.02%), Actinobacteria (9.45%–25.23%), and Acidobacteria (5.90%–9.85%), although their contributions varied among different plants. The rhizosphere functional microbial community can thus alleviate P limitation in karst plants, thereby enhancing plant P utilization efficiencies. This study investigated the strong synergism between karst plants and rhizosphere microorganisms and their associated underlying mechanisms from genetic and microbial perspectives.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.