Function-Based Rhizosphere Assembly along a Gradient of Desiccation in the Former Aral Sea.

ABSTRACT: The desiccation of the Aral Sea represents one of the largest human-made environmental regional disasters. The salt- and toxin-enriched dried-out basin provides a natural laboratory for studying ecosystem functioning and rhizosphere assembly under extreme anthropogenic conditions. Here, we investigated the prokaryotic rhizosphere communities of the native pioneer plant Suaeda acuminata (C.A.Mey.) Moq. in comparison to bulk soil across a gradient of desiccation (5, 10, and 40 years) by metagenome and amplicon sequencing combined with quantitative PCR (qPCR) analyses. The rhizosphere effect was evident due to significantly higher bacterial abundances but less diversity in the rhizosphere compared to bulk soil. Interestingly, in the highest salinity (5 years of desiccation), rhizosphere funct

SUBMITTER: Wicaksono WA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9765073 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature