Co-application of chitooligosaccharides and arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi reduced greenhouse gas fluxes in saline soil by improving the rhizosphere microecology of soybean

The Microbial Diversity of Biological Moss Crust: Application in Saline-Alkali Soil Management

Soil salinization poses a substantial threat to global food security, particularly under the influence of climate change, and is recognized as one of the most urgent challenges in land degradation. This study aims to elucidate the challenges associated with managing arid and semi-arid saline-alkali lands in China's Ningxia province and propose feasible solutions. To assess moss crust colonization, we measured changes in organic matter and chlorophyll levels. Additionally, we investigated the impact of an interlayer composed of Goji berry root bark using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis, biological enzyme activity analysis, and metagenomic sequencing. A total of 45 endophytes were isolated from the moss crust. The most significant colonization of moss crusts was observed when the Goji berry root bark was used as the interlayer, resulting in a significant increase in chlorophyll content. Several responses were identified as pivotal factors facilitating moss crust growth when the Goji berry root bark was used as the interlayer. In saline-alkali soil, the Goji berry root bark interlayer increased the activities of sucrase, urease, and alkaline phosphatase. Metagenomic data analysis revealed variations in the relative abundance of microorganisms at the phylum level, although these differences were not statistically significant. Evaluation of the impact of physical isolation and moss crust transplantation on the ecological restoration of saline-alkali soil using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry and metagenomic sequencing indicated that the Goji berry root bark as a physical isolation method promotes moss crust colonization in saline-alkali soil and increases soil organic matter and nutrient elements, offering valuable insights for the ecological management of saline-alkali land and serving as a reference for future research in this field.

Chitooligosaccharides and Arbuscular Mycorrhizal fungi alleviate the damage by Phytophthora nicotianae to tobacco seedlings by inducing changes in rhizosphere microecology

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and Chitooligosaccharide (COS) can increase the resistance of plants to disease. COS can also promote the symbiosis between AMF and plants. However, the effects of AMF & COS combined application on the rhizosphere soil microbial community of tobacco and the improvement of tobacco's resistance to black shank disease are poorly understood.·We treated tobacco with AMF, COS, and combined application of AMF & COS (AC), respectively. Then studied the incidence, physio-biochemical changes, root exudates, and soil microbial diversity of tobacco seedling that was inoculated with Phytophthora nicotianae. The antioxidant enzyme activity and root vigor of tobacco showed a regular of AC > AMF > COS > CK, while the severity of tobacco disease showed the opposite regular. AMF and COS enhance the resistance to black shank disease by enhancing root vigor, and antioxidant capacity, and inducing changes in the rhizosphere microecology of tobacco. We have identified key root exudates and critical soil microorganisms that can inhibit the growth of P. nicotianae. The presence of caprylic acid in root exudates and Bacillus (WdhR-2) in rhizosphere soil microorganisms is the key factor that inhibits P. nicotianae growth. AC can significantly increase the content of caprylic acid in tobacco root exudates compared to AMF and COS. Both AMF and COS can significantly increase the abundance of Bacillus in tobacco rhizosphere soil, but the abundance of Bacillus in AC is significantly higher than that in AMF and COS. This indicates that the combined application of AMF and COS is more effective than their individual use. These findings suggest that exogenous stimuli can induce changes in plant root exudates, regulate plant rhizosphere microbial community, and then inhibit the growth of pathogens, thereby improving plant resistance to diseases.

Genome-wide transcriptome and gene family analysis reveal candidate genes associated with potassium uptake of maize colonized by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi

BACKGROUND

Potassium (K) is an essential nutrient for plant growth and development. Maize (Zea mays) is a widely planted crops in the world and requires a huge amount of K fertilizer. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are closely related to the K uptake of maize. Genetic improvement of maize K utilization efficiency will require elucidating the molecular mechanisms of maize K uptake through the mycorrhizal pathway. Here, we employed transcriptome and gene family analysis to elucidate the mechanism influencing the K uptake and utilization efficiency of mycorrhizal maize.

METHODS AND RESULTS

The transcriptomes of maize were studied with and without AMF inoculation and under different K conditions. AM symbiosis increased the K concentration and dry weight of maize plants. RNA sequencing revealed that genes associated with the activity of the apoplast and nutrient reservoir were significantly enriched in mycorrhizal roots under low-K conditions but not under high-K conditions. Weighted gene correlation network analysis revealed that three modules were strongly correlated with K content. Twenty-one hub genes enriched in pathways associated with glycerophospholipid metabolism, glycerolipid metabolism, starch and sucrose metabolism, and anthocyanin biosynthesis were further identified. In general, these hub genes were upregulated in AMF-colonized roots under low-K conditions. Additionally, the members of 14 gene families associated with K obtain were identified (ARF: 38, ILK: 4, RBOH: 12, RUPO: 20, MAPKK: 89, CBL: 14, CIPK: 44, CPK: 40, PIN: 10, MYB: 174, NPF: 79, KT: 19, HAK/HKT/KUP: 38, and CPA: 8) from maize. The transcript levels of these genes showed that 92 genes (ARF:6, CBL:5, CIPK:13, CPK:2, HAK/HKT/KUP:7, PIN:2, MYB:26, NPF:16, RBOH:1, MAPKK:12 and RUPO:2) were upregulated with AM symbiosis under low-K conditions.

CONCLUSIONS

This study indicated that AMF increase the resistance of maize to low-K stress by regulating K uptake at the gene transcription level. Our findings provide a genome-level resource for the functional assignment of genes regulated by K treatment and AM symbiosis in K uptake-related gene families in maize. This may contribute to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of maize response to low K stress with AMF inoculation, and provided a theoretical basis for AMF application in the crop field.

Boosting species evenness, productivity and weed control in a mixed meadow by promoting arbuscular mycorrhizas

Lowland meadows represent aboveground and belowground biodiversity reservoirs in intensive agricultural areas, improving water retention and filtration, ensuring forage production, contrasting erosion and contributing to soil fertility and carbon sequestration. Besides such major ecosystem services, the presence of functionally different plant species improves forage quality, nutritional value and productivity, also limiting the establishment of weeds and alien species. Here, we tested the effectiveness of a commercial seed mixture in restoring a lowland mixed meadow in the presence or absence of inoculation with arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi and biostimulation of symbiosis development with the addition of short chain chito-oligosaccharides (CO). Plant community composition, phenology and productivity were regularly monitored alongside AM colonization in control, inoculated and CO-treated inoculated plots. Our analyses revealed that the CO treatment accelerated symbiosis development significantly increasing root colonization by AM fungi. Moreover, the combination of AM fungal inoculation and CO treatment improved plant species evenness and productivity with more balanced composition in forage species. Altogether, our study presented a successful and scalable strategy for the reintroduction of mixed meadows as valuable sources of forage biomass; demonstrated the positive impact of CO treatment on AM development in an agronomic context, extending previous observations developed under controlled laboratory conditions and leading the way to the application in sustainable agricultural practices.