The Rhizosphere Microbiome of Mikania micrantha Provides Insight Into Adaptation and Invasion

Abstract

Mikania micrantha is a noxious invasive plant causing enormous economic losses and ecological damage. Soil microbiome plays an important role in the invasion process of M. micrantha, while little is known about its rhizosphere microbiome composition and function. In this study, we identified the distinct rhizosphere microbial communities of M. micrantha, by comparing them with those of two coexisting native plants (Polygonum chinense and Paederia scandens) and the bulk soils, using metagenomics data from field sampling and pot experiment. As a result, the enrichment of phosphorus-solubilizing bacteria Pseudomonas and Enterobacter was consistent with the increased soil available phosphorus in M. micrantha rhizosphere. Furthermore, the pathogens of Fusarium oxysporum and Ralstonia solanacearum and pathogenic genes of type III secretion system (T3SS) were observed to be less abundant in M. micrantha rhizosphere, which might be attributed to the enrichment of biocontrol bacteria Catenulispora, Pseudomonas, and Candidatus Entotheonella and polyketide synthase (PKS) genes involved in synthesizing antibiotics and polyketides to inhibit pathogens. These findings collectively suggested that the enrichment of microbes involved in nutrient acquisition and pathogen suppression in the rhizosphere of M. micrantha largely enhances its adaptation and invasion to various environments.

Formation, characterization and modeling of emergent synthetic microbial communities

“…Determining these trophic exchanges and interdependent metabolic processes is difficult in natural microbial communities comprised of hundreds of members. For example, phylogenetic marker and metagenomics analyses have revealed the extreme diversity of rhizosphere bacterial communities and the complex interplay among them [7] , [8] , [9] , [10] , [11] . It has been established that the composition and activity of root bacterial communities is spatially and temporally dynamic and can be influenced by both abiotic (e.g., soil nutrients, O 2 , pH, etc.)…”

Genome Survey Sequencing of In Vivo Mother Plant and In Vitro Plantlets of Mikania cordata

“…A few remaining contigs in the stray region were identified as Methylobacterium spp. which had also been isolated from the leaves of M. glomerate [44] and M. micrantha [43]. This study again suggested that the micropropagation media incorporating antibiotics can effectively eliminate the covert endophytes in M. cordata.…”

“…Blast results validate that the most dominant contaminant in M. cordata is Fusarium fujikuroi, a filamentous fungus. Similarly, F. oxysporum has also been found in M. micrantha rhizosphere but not very abundant [43]. The contaminant DNA will not only take up part of the sequencing resources but also mislead assembly; thus, the in vitro aseptic plantlets were used for genome survey sequencing again.…”

Polyploidy‐promoted phenolic metabolism confers the increased competitive ability of Solidago canadensis

“…Allelopathy has been widely studied as one of the major underlying mechanisms of the successful invasion of plants (Bais et al 2003, Hierro and Callaway 2003). Allelopathic effects could directly contribute to the successful invasion of alien plants by inhibiting the growth of native plant species (Del Fabbro et al 2013, Cheng and Cheng 2015, Zheng et al 2015), and may also bring on phytotoxic inhibition to herbivores (Schaffner et al 2011), or affects the plant–plant interactions by altering the structure of below‐ground communities in invaded ecosystems (Coats and Rumpho 2014, Zeng 2014, Yin et al 2020). Novel weapons hypothesis (NWH) expounds that the successful invasion of alien plants could benefit from unique secondary metabolites which are not found in their non‐coevolved native competitors.…”