Dataset Information

Long-term conservation tillage with reduced nitrogen fertilization intensity can improve winter wheat health via positive plant-microorganism feedback in the rhizosphere.

ABSTRACT: Microbiome-based solutions are regarded key for sustainable agroecosystems. However, it is unclear how agricultural practices affect the rhizosphere microbiome, plant-microorganism interactions and crop performance under field conditions. Therefore, we installed root observation windows in a winter wheat field cultivated either under long-term mouldboard plough (MP) or cultivator tillage (CT). Each tillage practice was also compared at two nitrogen (N) fertilization intensities, intensive (recommended N-supply with pesticides/growth regulators) or extensive (reduced N-supply, no fungicides/growth regulators). Shoot biomass, root exudates and rhizosphere metabolites, physiological stress indicators, and gene expression were analyzed together with the rhizosphere microbiome (bacterial/archaeal 16S rRNA gene, fungal ITS amplicon, and shotgun metagenome sequencing) shortly before flowering. Compared to MP, the rhizosphere of CT winter wheat contained more primary and secondary metabolites, especially benzoxazinoid derivatives. Potential copiotrophic and plant-beneficial taxa (e.g. Bacillus, Devosia, and Trichoderma) as well as functional genes (e.g. siderophore production, trehalose synthase, and ACC deaminase) were enriched in the CT rhizosphere, suggesting that tillage affected belowground plant-microorganism interactions. In addition, physiological stress markers were suppressed in CT winter wheat compared to MP. In summary, tillage practice was a major driver of crop performance, root deposits, and rhizosphere microbiome interactions, while the N-fertilization intensity was also relevant, but less important.

SUBMITTER: Behr JH

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10847717 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Long-term conservation tillage with reduced nitrogen fertilization intensity can improve winter wheat health via positive plant-microorganism feedback in the rhizosphere.

Behr Jan Helge JH Kuhl-Nagel Theresa T Sommermann Loreen L Moradtalab Narges N Chowdhury Soumitra Paul SP Schloter Michael M Windisch Saskia S Schellenberg Ingo I Maccario Lorrie L Sørensen Søren J SJ Rothballer Michael M Geistlinger Joerg J Smalla Kornelia K Ludewig Uwe U Neumann Günter G Grosch Rita R Babin Doreen D

FEMS microbiology ecology 20240101 2

Microbiome-based solutions are regarded key for sustainable agroecosystems. However, it is unclear how agricultural practices affect the rhizosphere microbiome, plant-microorganism interactions and crop performance under field conditions. Therefore, we installed root observation windows in a winter wheat field cultivated either under long-term mouldboard plough (MP) or cultivator tillage (CT). Each tillage practice was also compared at two nitrogen (N) fertilization intensities, intensive (recom ...[more]

PMID: 38224956

Similar Datasets

Project description:Sweetpotato can be cultivated in the reclaimed rocky soil in Sichuan Basin, China, which benefits from the release of mineral nutrients in the rocky soil by microorganisms. Shortage of nitrogen (N) in the rocky soil limits sweetpotato yield, which can be compensated through N fertilization. Whereas high N fertilization inhibits biological N fixation and induces unintended environmental consequences. However, the effect of low N fertilization on microorganism community and sweetpotato yield in the N-deficient rocky soil is still unclear. We added a low level of 1.5 g urea/m2 to a rocky soil cultivated with sweetpotato, and measured rocky soil physiological and biochemical properties, rhizosphere microbial diversity, sweetpotato physiological properties and transcriptome. When cultivating sweetpotato in the rocky soil, low N fertilization (1.5 g urea/m2) not only improved total N (TN) and available N (AN) in the rocky soil, but also increased available phosphorus (AP), available potassium (AK), and nitrogenase and urease activity. Interestingly, although low N fertilization could reduce bacterial diversity through affecting sweetpotato root exudates and rocky soil properties, the relative abundance of P and K-solubilizing bacteria, N-fixing and urease-producing bacteria increased under low N fertilization, and the relative abundance of plant pathogens decreased. Furthermore, low N fertilization increased the phytohormones, such as zeatin riboside, abscisic acid, and methyl jasmonate contents in sweetpotato root. Those increases were consistent with our transcriptome findings: the inhibition of the lignin synthesis, the promotion of the starch synthesis, and the upregulated expression of Expansin, thus resulting in promoting the formation of tuberous roots and further increasing the sweetpotato yield by half, up to 3.3 kg/m2. This study indicated that low N fertilization in the N-deficient rocky soil improved this soil quality through affecting microorganism community, and further increased sweetpotato yield under regulation of phytohormones pathway.

Project description:Conservation tillage is an extensively used agricultural practice in northern China that alters soil texture and nutrient conditions, causing changes in the soil microbial community. However, how conservation tillage affects rhizosphere and bulk soil fungal communities during plant growth remains unclear. The present study investigated the effect of long-term (6 years) conservation (chisel plow, zero) and conventional (plow) tillage during wheat growth on the rhizosphere fungal community, using high-throughput sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) gene and quantitative PCR. During tillering, fungal alpha diversity in both rhizosphere and bulk soil were significantly higher under zero tillage compared to other methods. Although tillage had no significant effect during the flowering stage, fungal alpha diversity at this stage was significantly different between rhizosphere and bulk soils, with bulk soil presenting the highest diversity. This was also reflected in the phylogenetic structure of the communities, as rhizosphere soil communities underwent a greater shift from tillering to flowering compared to bulk soil communities. In general, less variation in community structure was observed under zero tillage compared to plow and chisel plow treatments. Changes in the relative abundance of the fungal orders Capnodiales, Pleosporales, and Xylariales contributed the highest to the dissimilarities observed. Structural equation models revealed that the soil fungal communities under the three tillage regimes were likely influenced by the changes in soil properties associated with plant growth. This study suggested that: (1) differences in nutrient resources between rhizosphere and bulk soils can select for different types of fungi thereby increasing community variation during plant growth; (2) tillage can alter fungal communities' variability, with zero tillage promoting more stable communities. This work suggests that long-term changes in tillage regimes may result in unique soil fungal ecology, which might influence other aspects of soil functioning (e.g., decomposition).

Dataset Information

Long-term conservation tillage with reduced nitrogen fertilization intensity can improve winter wheat health via positive plant-microorganism feedback in the rhizosphere.

Publications

Long-term conservation tillage with reduced nitrogen fertilization intensity can improve winter wheat health via positive plant-microorganism feedback in the rhizosphere.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets