Dataset Information

Synthetic Microbial Communities Improve Wheat Stem Base Rot and Promote Wheat Growth by Regulating Rhizosphere Microbial Communities

ABSTRACT:

Background

Wheat crown rot (WCR) caused by Fusarium spp. lacks durable, sustainable control. Engineering the rhizosphere with defined synthetic microbial communities (SynComs) offers a route to combined disease suppression and growth promotion. We aimed to build a cross-kingdom SynCom and evaluate its impacts on plant performance and the soil–microbiome system.

Results

We assembled a two-member SynCom comprising an antagonistic fungus (Trichoderma harzianum) and a growth-promoting bacterium (Bacillus rugosus). In greenhouse trials, SynCom inoculation reduced WCR severity by ~71% and improved vigor, more than doubling shoot and root biomass and increasing grain weight by ~13% versus non-inoculated controls. SynCom-treated plants maintained higher chlorophyll and antioxidant enzyme activities under pathogen challenge, with reduced oxidative stress markers relative to pathogen-only plants. Amplicon sequencing showed increased rhizosphere microbial diversity, enrichment of beneficial taxa (e.g., Mortierella), and suppression of Fusarium. SynCom also enhanced soil enzyme activities and nutrient availability and promoted accumulation of defense-related metabolites in the rhizosphere.

Conclusions

A tailored cross-kingdom SynCom establishes a disease-suppressive, growth-promoting soil environment that mitigates wheat crown rot while improving yield components. These findings support microbiome engineering as a practical, sustainable strategy for wheat production and warrant field-scale validation and formulation development.

INSTRUMENT(S): Liquid Chromatography MS - negative - reverse phase, Liquid Chromatography MS - positive - reverse phase

PROVIDER: MTBLS12945 | MetaboLights | 2025-09-06

REPOSITORIES: MetaboLights

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Dataset's files

Source:

			Action	DRS
	a_MTBLS12945_LC-MS_negative_reverse-phase_metabolite_profiling.txt	Txt
	a_MTBLS12945_LC-MS_positive_reverse-phase_metabolite_profiling.txt	Txt
	i_Investigation.txt	Txt
	m_MTBLS12945_LC-MS_negative_reverse-phase_metabolite_profiling_v2_maf.tsv	Tabular
	m_MTBLS12945_LC-MS_positive_reverse-phase_metabolite_profiling_v2_maf.tsv	Tabular

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Project description:<p>Wheat is a major staple crop grown across the globe. Fusarium crown rot (FCR) of wheat, caused by Fusarium pseudograminearum, is a destructive soil-borne disease that lacks effective sustainable control measures. Here, we assembled a cross-kingdom synthetic microbial community (SMC) comprising Trichoderma harzianum T19, Bacillus subtilis BS-Z15, and four other Bacillus strains, and evaluated its biocontrol efficacy against FCR under non-sterile soil conditions. The SMC treatment significantly suppressed FCR, reducing the disease severity index by approximately 70%. Wheat growth and yield were simultaneously enhanced: SMC inoculation nearly doubled plant biomass (with fresh and dry weights ~100% higher) and increased thousand-kernel weight by ~14% compared to the controls. In the rhizosphere, SMC improved soil health by elevating soil organic matter and nitrogen levels by over 50%, while mitigating pathogen-induced nutrient imbalances (excess available P and K) and boosting nutrient-cycling enzyme activities. Amplicon sequencing revealed that SMC suppressed pathogenic Fusarium in the rhizosphere and enriched beneficial microbes, including antagonistic fungi (Trichoderma, Chaetomium) and plant growth-promoting bacteria (Pseudomonas, Paenibacillus). Co-occurrence network analysis showed that SMC treatment restructured the rhizosphere microbial network with higher connectivity, stability, and a prevalence of positive cooperative interactions under F. pseudograminearum stress. Defense-related metabolites, such as epi-jasmonic acid, allantoin, Nβ-acetyltryptamine, and dihydrodaidzein, accumulated to higher levels with SMC, consistent with KEGG enrichment in pathways related to amino acid biosynthesis, carbon metabolism, signal transduction, and plant defense. These findings demonstrate that the cross-kingdom SMC modulates soil nutrients, microbial community structure, and rhizosphere metabolites to synergistically promote wheat growth and enhance resistance to FCR.</p>

Dataset Information

Synthetic Microbial Communities Improve Wheat Stem Base Rot and Promote Wheat Growth by Regulating Rhizosphere Microbial Communities

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