College of Environment, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, 310032, People's Republic of China.
Quebec-Ocean and Takuvik Joint International Research Unit, Université Laval, Québec, G1VOA6, Canada.
Microbiome. 2018 Dec 26;6(1):231. doi: 10.1186/s40168-018-0615-0.
Plant phenology has crucial biological, physical, and chemical effects on the biosphere. Phenological drivers have largely been studied, but the role of plant microbiota, particularly rhizosphere microbiota, has not been considered.
We discovered that rhizosphere microbial communities could modulate the timing of flowering of Arabidopsis thaliana. Rhizosphere microorganisms that increased and prolonged N bioavailability by nitrification delayed flowering by converting tryptophan to the phytohormone indole acetic acid (IAA), thus downregulating genes that trigger flowering, and stimulating further plant growth. The addition of IAA to hydroponic cultures confirmed this metabolic network.
We document a novel metabolic network in which soil microbiota influenced plant flowering time, thus shedding light on the key role of soil microbiota on plant functioning. This opens up multiple opportunities for application, from helping to mitigate some of the effects of climate change and environmental stress on plants (e.g. abnormal temperature variation, drought, salinity) to manipulating plant characteristics using microbial inocula to increase crop potential.
植物物候对生物圈具有至关重要的生物学、物理学和化学影响。人们已经对物候驱动因素进行了大量研究，但尚未考虑植物微生物组，特别是根际微生物组的作用。
我们发现，根际微生物群落可以调节拟南芥开花的时间。通过硝化作用增加和延长氮生物有效性的根际微生物会通过将色氨酸转化为植物激素吲哚乙酸（IAA）来延迟开花，从而下调触发开花的基因，并刺激植物进一步生长。向水培培养物中添加 IAA 证实了这种代谢网络。
我们记录了一个新的代谢网络，其中土壤微生物群影响植物的开花时间，从而揭示了土壤微生物群对植物功能的关键作用。这为应用开辟了多种机会，从帮助减轻气候变化和环境压力（例如异常温度变化、干旱、盐度）对植物的影响，到使用微生物接种剂来操纵植物特征以提高作物潜力。
