Maize Field Study Reveals Covaried Microbiota and Metabolic Changes in Roots over Plant Growth

Bourceret A, Guan R, Dorau K, Mansfeldt T, Omidbakhshfard A, Medeiros DB, Fernie AR, Hofmann J, Sonnewald U, Mayer J, Gerlach N, Bucher M, Garrido-Oter R, Spaepen S, Schulze-Lefert P (2022)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2022

Journal

Mbio American Society for Microbiology: mBio / American Society for Microbiology

Book Volume: 13

Journal Issue: 2

DOI: 10.1128/mbio.02584-21

Abstract

Plant roots are colonized by microorganisms from the surrounding soil that belong to different kingdoms and form a multikingdom microbial community called the root microbiota. Despite their importance for plant growth, the relationship between soil management, the root microbiota, and plant performance remains unknown. Here, we characterize the maize root-associated bacterial, fungal, and oomycetal communities during the vegetative and reproductive growth stages of four maize inbred lines and the pht1;6 phosphate transporter mutant. These plants were grown in two long-term experimental fields under four contrasting soil managements, including phosphate-deficient and -sufficient conditions. We showed that the maize root-associated microbiota is influenced by soil management and changes during host growth stages. We identified stable bacterial and fungal root-associated taxa that persist throughout the host life cycle. These taxa were accompanied by dynamic members that covary with changes in root metabolites. We observed an inverse stable-to-dynamic ratio between root-associated bacterial and fungal communities. We also found a host footprint on the soil biota, characterized by a convergence between soil, rhizosphere, and root bacterial communities during reproductive maize growth. Our study reveals the spatiotemporal dynamics of the maize rootassociated microbiota and suggests that the fungal assemblage is less responsive to changes in root metabolites than the bacterial community.

Authors with CRIS profile

Jörg Hofmann Lehrstuhl für Biochemie Uwe Sonnewald Lehrstuhl für Biochemie

Involved external institutions

Max-Planck-Institut für Pflanzenzüchtungsforschung / Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research DE Germany (DE) Universität zu Köln DE Germany (DE) Max-Planck-Institut für molekulare Pflanzenphysiologie / Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology DE Germany (DE) Agroscope CH Switzerland (CH)

How to cite

APA:

Bourceret, A., Guan, R., Dorau, K., Mansfeldt, T., Omidbakhshfard, A., Medeiros, D.B.,... Schulze-Lefert, P. (2022). Maize Field Study Reveals Covaried Microbiota and Metabolic Changes in Roots over Plant Growth. Mbio, 13(2). https://doi.org/10.1128/mbio.02584-21

MLA:

Bourceret, Amelia, et al. "Maize Field Study Reveals Covaried Microbiota and Metabolic Changes in Roots over Plant Growth." Mbio 13.2 (2022).

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