1. Functional assembly of root-associated microbial consortia improves nutrient efficiency and yield in soybean.
- Author
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Wang C, Li Y, Li M, Zhang K, Ma W, Zheng L, Xu H, Cui B, Liu R, Yang Y, Zhong Y, and Liao H
- Subjects
- Microbial Consortia physiology, Nitrogen metabolism, Phosphorus metabolism, Plant Roots physiology, RNA-Seq, Glycine max physiology, Plant Roots metabolism, Glycine max metabolism
- Abstract
Root-associated microbes are critical for plant growth and nutrient acquisition. However, scant information exists on optimizing communities of beneficial root-associated microbes or the mechanisms underlying their interactions with host plants. In this report, we demonstrate that root-associated microbes are critical influencers of host plant growth and nutrient acquisition. Three synthetic communities (SynComs) were constructed based on functional screening of 1,893 microbial strains isolated from root-associated compartments of soybean plants. Functional assemblage of SynComs promoted significant plant growth and nutrient acquisition under both N/P nutrient deficiency and sufficiency conditions. Field trials further revealed that application of SynComs stably and significantly promoted plant growth, facilitated N and P acquisition, and subsequently increased soybean yield. Among the tested communities, SynCom1 exhibited the greatest promotion effect, with yield increases of up to 36.1% observed in two field sites. Further RNA-seq implied that SynCom application systemically regulates N and P signaling networks at the transcriptional level, which leads to increased representation of important growth pathways, especially those related to auxin responses. Overall, this study details a promising strategy for constructing SynComs based on functional screening, which are capable of enhancing nutrient acquisition and crop yield through the activities of beneficial root-associated microbes., (© 2021 Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences.)
- Published
- 2021
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