biostudies-literatureWu Sthe Science and Technology Program of Guizhou Provincethe Talent Fund of Guizhou Universitythe National Natural Science Foundation of China33https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC12911403biostudies-literatureUnknown21(1)<h4>Background</h4>Karst rocky desertification poses a serious threat to the ecosystems of southwest China, where Hypnum leptothallum plays a crucial role in forming microbial crusts essential for restoration. However, the use of native microbial applications in this area remains largely unexplored.<h4>Results</h4>In this study, the host-associated microbial communities of H. leptothallum from four severely desertified regions in Guizhou Province were characterized using high-throughput sequencing. The results revealed conserved α- and β-diversity, with dominant bacterial phyla being Pseudomonadota (34-47%) and Actinomycetota (23-35%), and fungal phyla being Ascomycota (57-83%) and Basidiomycota (14-32%). Subsequent carbon-source preference analysis guided the formulation of specialized media (e.g., α-D-lactose, N-acetyl-D-glucosamine) to isolate culturable strains, with cross-referencing identifying 14 bacterial and 36 fungal species consistently shared between sequencing and cultivation. Functional evaluation demonstrated bacterial dominance in inorganic phosphorus solubilization (68% of strains), protease synthesis (76%), ammonia production (56%), and indole-3-acetic acid biosynthesis (62%), while fungi excelled in organophosphorus solubilization. Further drought tolerance and gametophyte co-culture assays identified 10 drought-resistant bacterial strains and 16 strains significantly enhancing H. leptothallum growth within 7 days.<h4>Conclusions</h4>These functionally validated strains, particularly drought-adapted and growth-stimulating species closely related to Rhodococcus erythropolis, provide targeted microbial resources for developing synthetic inoculants to optimize artificial crust propagation in karst restoration.Environmental microbiomeExploring the diversity and potential of host-associated microorganisms in Hypnum leptothallum to enhance plant resilience to drought stress for karst desertification restoration.PMC1291140332060038[2020]932160026QianKeHe-ZK[2022]034Li YHe ZCao WLu YWu SQu JXiang YChen XZuo QfalseExploring the diversity and potential of host-associated microorganisms in Hypnum leptothallum to enhance plant resilience to drought stress for karst desertification restoration.<h4>Background</h4>Karst rocky desertification poses a serious threat to the ecosystems of southwest China, where Hypnum leptothallum plays a crucial role in forming microbial crusts essential for restoration. However, the use of native microbial applications in this area remains largely unexplored.<h4>Results</h4>In this study, the host-associated microbial communities of H. leptothallum from four severely desertified regions in Guizhou Province were characterized using high-throughput sequencing. The results revealed conserved α- and β-diversity, with dominant bacterial phyla being Pseudomonadota (34-47%) and Actinomycetota (23-35%), and fungal phyla being Ascomycota (57-83%) and Basidiomycota (14-32%). Subsequent carbon-source preference analysis guided the formulation of specialized media (e.g., α-D-lactose, N-acetyl-D-glucosamine) to isolate culturable strains, with cross-referencing identifying 14 bacterial and 36 fungal species consistently shared between sequencing and cultivation. Functional evaluation demonstrated bacterial dominance in inorganic phosphorus solubilization (68% of strains), protease synthesis (76%), ammonia production (56%), and indole-3-acetic acid biosynthesis (62%), while fungi excelled in organophosphorus solubilization. Further drought tolerance and gametophyte co-culture assays identified 10 drought-resistant bacterial strains and 16 strains significantly enhancing H. leptothallum growth within 7 days.<h4>Conclusions</h4>These functionally validated strains, particularly drought-adapted and growth-stimulating species closely related to Rhodococcus erythropolis, provide targeted microbial resources for developing synthetic inoculants to optimize artificial crust propagation in karst restoration.2026-01-01T00:00:00Z2026 Jan2026-07-09T13:12:50.759Z2026-07-09T13:09:56.015ZS-EPMC129114034158088110.1186/s40793-026-00849-z