Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Horticultural Crops (Northeast Region), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Department of Horticulture, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, 150030, China.
Department of Microbiology and Genetics and Institute for Agribiotechnology Research (CIALE), University of Salamanca, Salamanca, 37007, Spain.
Microbiome. 2024 Oct 21;12(1):207. doi: 10.1186/s40168-024-01914-w.
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) released by plants can act as signaling molecules mediating ecological interactions. Therefore, the study of VOCs mediated intra- and interspecific interactions with downstream plant physiological responses is critical to advance our understanding of mechanisms underlying information exchange in plants. Here, we investigated how plant-emitted VOCs affect the performance of an interspecific neighboring plant via induced shifts in root exudate chemistry with implications for root-associated microbiota recruitment.
First, we showed that VOCs emitted by potato-onion plants stimulate the growth of adjacent tomato plants. Then, we demonstrated that this positive effect on tomato biomass was attributed to shifts in the tomato rhizosphere microbiota. Specifically, we found potato-onion VOCs to indirectly affect the recruitment of specific bacteria (e.g., Pseudomonas and Bacillus spp.) in the tomato rhizosphere. Second, we identified and validated the compound dipropyl disulfide as the active molecule within the blend of potato-onion VOCs mediating this interspecific plant communication. Third, we showed that the effect on the tomato rhizosphere microbiota occurs via induced changes in root exudates of tomato plants caused by exposure to dipropyl disulfide. Last, Pseudomonas and Bacillus spp. bacteria enriched in the tomato rhizosphere were shown to have plant growth-promoting activities.
Potato-onion VOCs-specifically dipropyl disulfide-can induce shifts in the root exudate of adjacent tomato plants, which results in the recruitment of plant-beneficial bacteria in the rhizosphere. Taken together, this study elucidated a new mechanism of interspecific plant interaction mediated by VOCs resulting in alterations in the rhizosphere microbiota with beneficial outcomes for plant performance. Video Abstract.
植物释放的挥发性有机化合物（VOCs）可以作为信号分子，介导生态相互作用。因此，研究 VOCs 介导的种内和种间相互作用及其对下游植物生理反应的影响，对于深入了解植物信息交流的机制至关重要。在这里，我们研究了植物排放的 VOCs 如何通过诱导根系分泌物化学变化来影响邻接的种间植物的性能，从而影响与根系相关的微生物群落的招募。
首先，我们表明，洋葱-马铃薯植株排放的 VOCs 刺激了相邻番茄植株的生长。然后，我们证明了这种对番茄生物量的正向影响归因于番茄根际微生物群落的变化。具体来说，我们发现洋葱-马铃薯 VOCs 间接地影响了特定细菌（如假单胞菌和芽孢杆菌属）在番茄根际的招募。其次，我们鉴定并验证了二丙基二硫化合物作为介导这种种间植物通讯的洋葱-马铃薯 VOC 混合物中的活性分子。第三，我们表明，番茄根际微生物群落的这种变化是通过暴露于二丙基二硫化合物导致番茄根系分泌物的诱导变化而发生的。最后，我们发现富集在番茄根际的假单胞菌和芽孢杆菌属细菌具有促进植物生长的活性。
洋葱-马铃薯 VOCs-特别是二丙基二硫化合物-可以诱导相邻番茄植株根系分泌物的变化，从而导致根际有益细菌的招募。综上所述，本研究阐明了一种新的 VOC 介导的种间植物相互作用机制，导致根际微生物群落的改变，从而对植物的性能产生有益的影响。视频摘要。
