Chen Yalin, Sun Chunyu, Yan Yuxin, Jiang Dongxue, Huangfu Shaoqi, Tian Lei
State Key Laboratory of Black Soils Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130102, China; College of Life Science, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun 130000, China.
College of Life Science, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun 130000, China.
Microbiol Res. 2025 Jan;290:127957. doi: 10.1016/j.micres.2024.127957. Epub 2024 Oct 30.
With an alarming increase in global greenhouse gas emissions, unstable weather conditions are significantly impacting agricultural production. Drought stress is one of the frequent consequences of climate change that affects crop growth and yield. Addressing this issue is critical to ensure stable crop productivity under drought conditions. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) establish symbiotic relationships with plants and enhance their resistance to adverse conditions. Effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal associations on the rhizosphere microbiome and root transcriptome under drought conditions have not been explored. Here, we investigated the effects of AMF and drought stress on rhizosphere microorganisms and root transcriptome of maize plants grown in chernozem soil. We used high-throughput sequencing data of bacterial 16S rRNA and fungal internal transcribed spacer regions (ITS) to identify rhizosphere microorganisms. Transcriptomic data were used to assess gene expression in maize plants under different treatments. Our results show that AMF maintains the composition of maize rhizosphere microorganisms under drought stress. In particular, the bacterial and fungal phyla maintained were Actinomycetes and Ascomycota, respectively. Transcriptomic data indicated that AMF influenced gene expression in maize plants under drought stress. Under drought stress, the expression of SWEET13, CHIT3, and RPL23A was significantly higher in the presence of AMF than it was without AMF inoculation, indicating better sugar transport, reduced malondialdehyde accumulation, and improved water use efficiency in AMF-inoculated maize plants. These findings suggest that AMF can enhance the resistance of maize to moderate drought stress by stabilising plant physical traits, which may help maintain the structure of the rhizosphere microbial community. This study provides valuable theoretical insights that should aid the utilization of AMF in sustainable agricultural practices.
随着全球温室气体排放量惊人地增加，不稳定的天气状况正在对农业生产产生重大影响。干旱胁迫是气候变化经常导致的后果之一，它会影响作物生长和产量。解决这个问题对于确保干旱条件下作物产量稳定至关重要。丛枝菌根真菌（AMF）与植物建立共生关系，并增强植物对不利条件的抵抗力。干旱条件下丛枝菌根共生对根际微生物组和根系转录组的影响尚未得到研究。在这里，我们研究了AMF和干旱胁迫对黑钙土中生长的玉米植株根际微生物和根系转录组的影响。我们使用细菌16S rRNA和真菌内转录间隔区（ITS）的高通量测序数据来鉴定根际微生物。转录组数据用于评估不同处理下玉米植株的基因表达。我们的结果表明，AMF在干旱胁迫下维持了玉米根际微生物的组成。特别是，维持的细菌和真菌门类分别是放线菌门和子囊菌门。转录组数据表明，AMF在干旱胁迫下影响玉米植株的基因表达。在干旱胁迫下，SWEET13、CHIT3和RPL23A在接种AMF的情况下的表达显著高于未接种AMF的情况，这表明接种AMF的玉米植株在糖分运输、丙二醛积累减少和水分利用效率提高方面表现更好。这些发现表明，AMF可以通过稳定植物生理特性来增强玉米对中度干旱胁迫的抗性，这可能有助于维持根际微生物群落的结构。本研究提供了有价值的理论见解，应有助于在可持续农业实践中利用AMF。
