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Hao X, Gu Y, Zhang H, Wang X, Liu X, Chen C, Wang C, Zhang X, Liu X, Shen X. Synthetic Microbial Community Promotes Bacterial Communities Leading to Soil Multifunctionality in Desertified Land. Microorganisms 2024; 12:1117. [PMID: 38930499 PMCID: PMC11205429 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms12061117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2024] [Revised: 05/28/2024] [Accepted: 05/28/2024] [Indexed: 06/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Soil desertification is an important challenge in global soil management, and effectively and stably restoring soil function is an urgent problem. Using synthetic microbial communities (SynComs) is a burgeoning microbial strategy aimed at enhancing soil nutrients through functional synergies among diverse microorganisms; nevertheless, their effectiveness in restoring desertified soils remains unknown. In this study, we conducted a two-year field experiment using a SynCom constructed by in situ probiotic bacteria and set up control, chemical fertilizer, and combined SynCom-chemical fertilizer (combined fertilizer) treatments to investigate the linkage between microbial communities and soil multifunctionality in the soil surface layer (0-10 cm). Both the bacterial and fungal communities differed the most under the combined fertilizer treatment compared to the control. The bacterial communities differed more under treatments of the SynCom than the chemical fertilizer, while the fungal communities differed more under the chemical fertilizer treatment than the SynCom treatment. Regarding soil function, the SynCom strengthened the correlation between enzyme activities and both bacterial communities and functional properties. pH and available potassium were the main influencing factors under the chemical fertilizer and combined fertilizer treatments. The beta-diversity of the bacterial communities was significantly correlated with soil multifunctionality. Random forest analyses showed that the SynCom significantly enhanced the bacterial communities, driving soil multifunctionality, and that some potential microbial taxa drove multiple nutrient cycles simultaneously. In summary, the SynCom effectively increased the abundance of most carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus functional genes as well as soil enzyme activities. The bacterial community composition contributed significantly to soil multifunctionality. Hence, the development of novel microbial agents holds significant potential for improving soil functionality and managing desertification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinwei Hao
- State Key Laboratory for Crop Stress Resistance and High-Efficiency Production, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Environmental Microbiology, College of Life Sciences, Northwest A&F University, Xianyang 712100, China; (X.H.); (X.W.); (C.C.); (C.W.)
| | - Yazhou Gu
- Qingyang Longfeng Sponge City Construction Management and Operation Co., Ltd., Qingyang 745000, China; (Y.G.); (H.Z.)
| | - Hongzhi Zhang
- Qingyang Longfeng Sponge City Construction Management and Operation Co., Ltd., Qingyang 745000, China; (Y.G.); (H.Z.)
| | - Xiao Wang
- State Key Laboratory for Crop Stress Resistance and High-Efficiency Production, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Environmental Microbiology, College of Life Sciences, Northwest A&F University, Xianyang 712100, China; (X.H.); (X.W.); (C.C.); (C.W.)
| | - Xiaozhen Liu
- Institute of Grassland Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hohhot 010013, China; (X.L.); (X.Z.)
| | - Chunlei Chen
- State Key Laboratory for Crop Stress Resistance and High-Efficiency Production, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Environmental Microbiology, College of Life Sciences, Northwest A&F University, Xianyang 712100, China; (X.H.); (X.W.); (C.C.); (C.W.)
| | - Congcong Wang
- State Key Laboratory for Crop Stress Resistance and High-Efficiency Production, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Environmental Microbiology, College of Life Sciences, Northwest A&F University, Xianyang 712100, China; (X.H.); (X.W.); (C.C.); (C.W.)
| | - Xiaoqing Zhang
- Institute of Grassland Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hohhot 010013, China; (X.L.); (X.Z.)
| | - Xingyu Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, Institute of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences, Beijing 100083, China;
| | - Xihui Shen
- State Key Laboratory for Crop Stress Resistance and High-Efficiency Production, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Environmental Microbiology, College of Life Sciences, Northwest A&F University, Xianyang 712100, China; (X.H.); (X.W.); (C.C.); (C.W.)
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Kim N, Riggins CW, Zabaloy MC, Rodriguez-Zas SL, Villamil MB. Limited Impacts of Cover Cropping on Soil N-Cycling Microbial Communities of Long-Term Corn Monocultures. Front Microbiol 2022; 13:926592. [PMID: 35755999 PMCID: PMC9226624 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.926592] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2022] [Accepted: 05/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Cover cropping (CC) is a promising in-field practice to mitigate soil health degradation and nitrogen (N) losses from excessive N fertilization. Soil N-cycling microbial communities are the fundamental drivers of these processes, but how they respond to CC under field conditions is poorly documented for typical agricultural systems. Our objective was to investigate this relationship for a long-term (36 years) corn [Zea mays L.] monocultures under three N fertilizer rates (N0, N202, and N269; kg N/ha), where a mixture of cereal rye [Secale cereale L.] and hairy vetch [Vicia villosa Roth.] was introduced for two consecutive years, using winter fallows as controls (BF). A 3 × 2 split-plot arrangement of N rates and CC treatments in a randomized complete block design with three replications was deployed. Soil chemical and physical properties and potential nitrification (PNR) and denitrification (PDR) rates were measured along with functional genes, including nifH, archaeal and bacterial amoA, nirK, nirS, and nosZ-I, sequenced in Illumina MiSeq system and quantified in high-throughput quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). The abundances of nifH, archaeal amoA, and nirS decreased with N fertilization (by 7.9, 4.8, and 38.9 times, respectively), and correlated positively with soil pH. Bacterial amoA increased by 2.4 times with CC within N269 and correlated positively with soil nitrate. CC increased the abundance of nirK by 1.5 times when fertilized. For both bacterial amoA and nirK, N202 and N269 did not differ from N0 within BF. Treatments had no significant effects on nosZ-I. The reported changes did not translate into differences in functionality as PNR and PDR did not respond to treatments. These results suggested that N fertilization disrupts the soil N-cycling communities of this system primarily through soil acidification and high nutrient availability. Two years of CC may not be enough to change the N-cycling communities that adapted to decades of disruption from N fertilization in corn monoculture. This is valuable primary information to understand the potentials and limitations of CC when introduced into long-term agricultural systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nakian Kim
- Department of Crop Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, United States
| | - Chance W. Riggins
- Department of Crop Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, United States
| | - María C. Zabaloy
- Centro de Recursos Naturales Renovables de la Zona Semiárida, UNS-CONICET, Departamento de Agronomía, Universidad Nacional del Sur, Bahía Blanca, Argentina
| | | | - María B. Villamil
- Department of Crop Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, United States
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