Novel Adaptive Strategies of Maize Rhizosphere Microbiome Mediated by strain ST-1 Against Vanadium Stress

ABSTRACT: Vanadium (V) contamination can disrupt plant growth, rhizosphere redox processes, and microbial functions, but how functional bacterial inoculation coordinates rhizosphere ecological adaptation with V behavior in crop systems remains unclear. In this study, a maize pot experiment was conducted to systematically investigate the strain ST-1-mediated rhizosphere response to V(V) stress by integrating plant physiological traits, V accumulation and fractionation, 16S rRNA sequencing, untargeted metabolomics, and metagenomics. V stress inhibited maize growth and induced oxidative damage, whereas strain ST-1 inoculation improved plant performance and antioxidant capacity and reduced V accumulation in aboveground tissues. At maturity, these beneficial effects were accompanied by a redistribution of rhizosphere V toward the reducible fraction. Microbial community analysis showed that strain ST-1 did not simply restore the rhizosphere to an uncontaminated state, but selectively restructured key indigenous microbial groups. This microbial restructuring was associated with a recalibration of the rhizosphere metabolic network, particularly involving carbohydrate metabolism, aromatic and nitrogen-containing metabolism, nucleotide metabolism, membrane lipid metabolism, and cofactor metabolism. MAG analysis further identified key genomic carriers harboring genes related to complex carbon mobilization, reverse TCA-associated carbon skeleton conservation, aminotransferase-mediated transformation of nitrogen-containing intermediates, and nar–nir–nor-linked nitrate/nitrite reduction, providing a potential genomic basis for carbon–nitrogen reorganization and local redox regulation. Collectively, these results support an integrated model in which strain ST-1 inoculation promotes selective rhizosphere microbial restructuring and metabolic reprogramming, which are associated with V fraction redistribution and ultimately contribute to reduced V stress and improved maize adaptation. These findings provide multi-omics evidence for regulating V behavior and restoring rhizosphere function in V-contaminated agricultural soils.

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

PROVIDER: MTBLS14800 | MetaboLights | 2026-06-21

REPOSITORIES: MetaboLights