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PubMed2025

Native edaphoclimatic regions shape soil communities of crop wild progenitors.

Unveiling the soil biological communities ecologically associated with crop wild progenitors (CWPs) in their habitats of origin is essential for advancing productive and sustainable agriculture. A field survey was conducted to investigate the edaphoclimatic conditions and soil bacterial, fungal, protist, and invertebrate communities of 125 populations of direct progenitors of major crops for world agriculture. The wild populations clustered into four ecoregions shaped by two edaphoclimatic dimensions: one summarizing variations in soil sand contents and nutrients concentrations, and the other featuring changes in aridity, soil pH, and carbon storage potential. We identified a common soil core community across CWPs that varied significantly along deserts to tropical seasonal forests and savannas. The assembly of the soil core community was driven by varying environmental preferences amongst soil biodiversity kingdoms, reflecting potential shifts in their functional profiles. The tropical ecoregion exhibited higher proportion of acidophilic bacteria, fungal, and protist parasites, whilst desert ecosystems harboured greater abundances of saprophytic fungi and heterotrophic protists. Moreover, CWPs displayed unique microhabitats that incorporate variability into the soil community assembly. Our work reveals the biogeography of soil communities associated with CWPs, the first step towards the development of microbial rewilding initiatives.

centres of origin↗

PubMed2025

Metagenomic analysis of microbial community dynamics in konjac rhizosphere during soft rot disease progression.

Amorphophallus konjac, the sole glucomannan-rich species in the Araceae family, faces significant yield and quality losses due to soft rot disease. Understanding the relationship between soil microbial communities and soft rot incidence is critical for sustainable konjac production. Metagenomic profiling was employed to systematically characterize the spatiotemporal dynamics of rhizosphere microbiomes during disease progression. Microbial alpha diversity (Chao1 index) exhibited a significant peak in the rhizosphere of diseased plants at the mature stage, contrasting with stable diversity patterns in healthy and latently infected groups, indicating dysbiosis-associated richness inflation during disease progression. Principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) revealed significant divergence in rhizosphere microbial structures between diseased and healthy/latently infected groups, with higher compositional variability observed in diseased samples. At the phylum level, Chloroflexi and Acidobacteria abundances in healthy mature plants exceeded those in diseased plants by 11.54% and 4.6%, respectively, while pathogenic Rhizopus arrhizus and Rhizopus microsporus were significantly enriched in diseased mature plants. Correlation analyses demonstrated predominantly negative associations between bacterial species and soil factors, contrasting with positive fungal correlations. KEGG pathway annotation identified carbohydrate metabolism and amino acid synthesis as core microbial functions in the konjac rhizosphere. Collectively, Chloroflexi and Acidobacteria were validated as putative biocontrol agents, while Rhizopus spp. emerged as key drivers of soft rot development. These findings provide mechanistic insights for designing microbiome-based biocontrol strategies to mitigate konjac soft rot, offering a sustainable alternative to conventional agrochemical reliance. KEY POINTS: • Diseased konjac microbial richness peaks; healthy plants enrich Chloroflexi/Acidobacteria. • Rhizopus pathogens drive soft rot; bacteria and fungi show opposing soil factor links. • Lays groundwork for microbiome approaches to cut agrochemicals in konjac rot control.

Rhizosphere↗

PubMed2026

Recurrent and niche-specific functional bacteriome of maize hybrid revealed by integrated metabarcoding and culturomics.

The plant microbiome plays a pivotal role in plant survival in natural habitats by facilitating nutrient acquisition, stress adaptation, and disease suppression, while also offering opportunities to enhance crop productivity and climate resilience. However, the distribution of persistent and culturable bacteriome across maize-associated niches and their functional potential remain poorly resolved. This study integrated metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS-based metabarcoding) and culturomics to characterise the maize-associated bacteriome of bulk soil, rhizoplane, phylloplane, and cob of the maize hybrid PHM-1 under contrasting cropping and tillage systems, and to identify recurrent and agriculturally promising bacteriome components. The bacteriome exhibited pronounced niche-specific structuring, whereas overall bacterial community composition did not differ significantly across cropping and tillage treatments (ANOSIM, R = 0.038, p = 0.306). Proteobacteria predominated in the culturable bacteriome (69-84%; mean, 76.2%) but accounted for only 1% of the total bacteriome, whereas Patescibacteria and Firmicutes were relatively enriched. Niche-specific dominance was evident, with Pantoea accounting for 40.79% of the total and 56.27% of the culturable phylloplane bacteriome under cereal monocropping, while Serratia represented 31.59% and 59.40% of the total and culturable cob bacteriomes, respectively. Across niches, mNGS captured substantially greater bacteriome diversity, particularly uncultured and unidentified taxa in soil-associated compartments, whereas culturomics recovered a narrower but functionally accessible fraction. Culturomics yielded 99 isolates representing 32 species across 12 genera, including six genera shared with the mNGS-derived recurrent bacteriome: Bacillus, Enterobacter, Pantoea, Pseudomonas, Serratia, and Stenotrophomonas. Functional screening identified strong biocontrol and plant-beneficial traits among core-associated isolates. Pseudomonas oryzihabitans ZM-DL-PA10 inhibited Rhizoctonia solani, Macrophomina phaseolina, and Bipolaris maydis by up to 40.6%, 43.9%, and 45.2%, respectively, through secreted and volatile metabolites; exhibited P, K, and Zn solubilisation; and produced IAA and siderophores. It also recorded the lowest B. maydis disease index (ADI) of 1.00. Pantoea ananatis ZM-BH-EA4 showed 52.4% and 68.5% inhibition of R. solani and B. maydis, respectively, through volatile metabolites. Collectively, the integration of mNGS and culturomics revealed a strongly compartmentalised maize bacteriome and identified recurrent, culturable, and functionally promising bacterial taxa, providing a targeted resource for microbiome-based crop protection and climate-resilient maize production.

Zea mays↗

PubMed2026

Climate and soil shape Daqu wheat quality and seed microbiome via rhizosphere taxa and microbial assembly.

The grain quality and seed microbiome of Daqu wheat are fundamental determinants of Daqu fermentation performance; however, the mechanisms by which cultivation environments influence these traits via rhizosphere microbial communities remain unclear. Bacterial and fungal communities across the bulk soil-rhizosphere-seed continuum of three wheat cultivars grown in four ecoregions were characterized using absolute quantitative amplicon sequencing. The rhizosphere microbiome was treated as a central intermediary, while the response variables were seed microbial diversity and grain-quality traits, including starch content, protein content, and grain hardness. Twelve physicochemical properties of soil and 11 climatic factors were integrated into a multidimensional association framework. Environmental conditions exerted stronger influences on both seed quality traits and microbial diversity than cultivar identity. Distinct regional signatures were also evident in rhizosphere microbiomes, with environmental gradients explaining community variation more effectively than geographic distance. Bacterial communities exhibited greater sensitivity to environmental fluctuations than fungi. Mantel analyses identified available nitrogen, precipitation, and atmospheric pressure as significant drivers of core rhizosphere taxa (P < 0.05). iCAMP revealed that stochastic processes predominantly governed rhizosphere bacterial assembly, whereas stochastic and deterministic mechanisms jointly shaped fungal assembly. Partial least squares path modeling further uncovered a rhizosphere-mediated environment-seed cascade, wherein sunlight intensity and duration, atmospheric pressure, and soil nitrogen directly or indirectly affected seed wet gluten content, grain hardness, and seed microbial diversity through their influences on rhizosphere microbiota. Rhizosphere bacterial diversity was negatively associated with seed bacterial diversity (path coefficient = -0.118, P < 0.05), indicating that rhizosphere communities may shape seed endophytic bacterial assemblages via environmental filtering and competitive interactions. Collectively, these findings elucidate how environments shape the quality and seed microbiomes of Daqu wheat, providing scientific guidance for optimal site selection and the standardized production of high-quality brewing wheat for industrial Baijiu.

Triticum↗

PubMed2026

Ecological Filtering by Tuber Compartments Shapes Stable Core Microbiomes That Underpin Potato Plant Growth Across Environments.

Harnessing plant microbiomes for sustainable agriculture requires understanding not only whether they can boost crop performance, but also how ecological processes govern their assembly, stability, and functional contributions across environments. While we previously showed that seed tuber microbiomes can predict potato vigour using machine learning, it remained unclear how ecological processes shape tuber microbiome stability and functionality across host genotypes, tuber compartments, soil types, and years. Here, we analyzed the national-scale dataset of 240 field-collected potato seedlots, spanning six genotypes, two soil types, and two growing years, with a focus on the spatially distinct heel and eye compartments of the potato tuber. By profiling over 1200 bacterial and fungal communities and linking microbiome composition to plant performance, we show that plant genotype and tuber compartment are the strongest determinants of microbial diversity and composition. Compartment-specific enrichment of functional traits revealed spatial partitioning of microbial functions, with organic compound conversion and nitrogen cycling dominant in the heel, and energy metabolism enriched in the eye. Applying a macroecological abundance-occupancy framework, we identified a stable core microbiome of bacterial and fungal taxa that persisted across all environments and years. These core members were more strongly associated with plant growth-related traits than non-core taxa, and core taxa in different tuber compartments showed distinct correlations with taxa of potential pathogenic relevance. Together, our findings demonstrate that tuber compartments act as ecological filters that structure persistent, functionally specialised microbiomes linked to plant growth-related traits across environments. By providing an ecological and functional framework for compartment-resolved, stable core microbiomes, this study advances mechanistic understanding of plant-microbe interactions and identifies stable microbial partners as promising targets for improving potato resilience and productivity.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2026

Characteristics and assembly mechanisms of tobacco-associated bacteria in typical tobacco-planting regions across China.

INTRODUCTION: Plant-associated microbiota critically modulates host growth and environmental adaptation, yet assembly mechanisms, niche differentiation, and ecological strategies of bacterial communities inhabiting tobacco microhabitats remain poorly elucidated across geographical gradients. METHODS: Here, we systematically characterized bacterial microbiome assembly across five tobacco-associated niches (bulk soil, rhizosphere soil, root, stem, and leaf) from seven typical tobacco-planting regions using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing, genome annotation, and niche breadth analysis. The independent and interactive effects of geographical location and host compartment on community structure, and further compared genomic traits, functional profiles, and life-history strategies between specialist and generalist bacterial populations were quantified. RESULTS: The results revealed a deterministic soil-plant continuum stratification of bacterial communities and diversity, with progressively simplified communities and decreasing alpha diversity from bulk soil to above-ground tissues, accompanied by progressive dominance of Proteobacteria. Geographical factors predominantly structured soil microbial communities via divergent edaphic properties, while host filtering acted as a universal dominant driver shaping endophytic microbiome assembly. Niche differentiation analysis demonstrated that niche-specialized bacterial ASVs overwhelmingly dominated all microhabitats and geographical sites, whereas generalist taxa only constituted auxiliary populations. Although specialist and generalist microbes exhibited highly conserved core genomic architectures and overall functional repertoires, they displayed distinct niche-specific functional divergence in metabolic pathways, stress resistance, and secondary metabolism across host compartments. Life-history strategy analysis further revealed that Y-strategist represented the core adaptive bacterial population, especially enriched in above-ground tobacco tissues. DISCUSSION: Our study establishes a hierarchical dual-filtering assembly model for tobacco microbiota, clarifies the ecological differentiation and functional adaptation of specialist and generalist bacteria, and provides fundamental insights into the assembly rules and adaptive mechanisms of crop-associated microbiomes for future microbial resource utilization and agricultural microbiome regulation.

biogeography↗

PubMed2026

Divergent responses of the rhizosphere microbiome to organic amendments sustain cadmium immobilization and low crop Cd accumulation after remediation.

This study integrated a two-stage immobilization-cultivation experiment to evaluate the effects of three immobilization strategies (inorganic, organic, and organo-mineral amendments) and two fertilization modes (mineral fertilizer alone and partial substitution with organic fertilizer) on soil cadmium (Cd) immobilization and plant Cd accumulation. During the immobilization phase, the organo-mineral strategy achieved the highest Cd immobilization efficiency of 69.5%. In the cultivation phase, the use of mineral fertilizer alone led to Cd remobilization, whereas organic substitution maintained or even enhanced immobilization, reducing shoot Cd accumulation in pak choi by up to 58.3%. Notably, the combined organic immobilization and organic substitution treatment (OP) was particularly effective: despite not having the lowest soil available Cd, it achieved the lowest plant Cd accumulation (2.83 mg·kg-1). Genomic analysis indicated that the OP treatment enriched core metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs), including MAG8/Pelagerythrobacter, MAG13/Sphingomicrobium, and MAG30/VAYN01, which contained the highest abundances of genes related to extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) synthesis, phosphorus mobilization, and complexation-precipitation, suggesting the potential of these microbes to enhance EPS secretion and phosphate precipitation for rhizospheric Cd interception. This functional potential, along with the measured high EPS content (259.88 mg·kg-1) and low plant Cd accumulation in the OP group, provides coherent correlative evidence supporting the hypothesis that an "EPS barrier-chemical precipitation" mechanism synergistically reduces Cd migration to root surfaces. Collectively, continuous organic management can maintain soil fertility, enhance Cd immobilization, and promote low-Cd crop production, offering an efficient strategy for the safe utilization of remediated farmland.

Cadmium contamination↗

PubMed2026

Functional capacities drive recruitment of bacteria into plant root microbiota.

Root-associated microbiomes are shaped by the plant, yet vary across environments and hosts, challenging prediction and engineering. Here, to uncover principles of bacterial selection at the root-soil interface, we applied a systems-level approach using reconstitution studies with communities of isolates from Arabidopsis, barley and Lotus grown in soil. Functional divergence among the microbiota of the host plants reflected distinct strategies: in Arabidopsis and barley, recruitment was primarily shaped by inoculum, while Lotus root environment favoured fewer, functionally diverse isolates, akin to a 'Swiss army knife' strategy. Despite taxonomic variability, root microbiomes encoded overlapping functions. Across major taxa, isolates with broad but distinct functional repertoires within their families were consistently more abundant. Using a genome-to-function framework that is function centric, taxonomically inclusive and host-context aware, we identified 266 functions enriched across all root microbiomes. This functional backbone emerged as a core signature of plant-associated bacteria, providing a solid foundation for microbiome engineering in agriculture.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2026

Bacterial motility in rhizosphere colonization: mechanisms, constraints, and implications for microbial inoculants.

Although the potential of microbial inoculants for sustainable agriculture and environmental restoration has been widely recognized, their field performance remains highly variable and often unpredictable. Current research and development frameworks for microbial inoculants primarily focus on their plant growth-promoting functions and metabolic traits, often overlooking the ecological processes that determine whether introduced strains can successfully disperse, access, and establish within the rhizosphere. Increasing evidence suggests that successful dispersal and establishment cannot be assumed in the highly heterogeneous conditions of soil systems. Here, we summarize the key mechanisms underlying bacterial motility and discuss its role within the broader framework of microbial dispersal, highlighting how motility-mediated processes contribute to rhizosphere colonization. We propose that bacterial motility represents a key mechanistic determinant of biofertilizer efficacy. Its role extends beyond the ability of inoculant strains to physically reach the rhizosphere, encompassing competitive colonization on the root surface, long-term persistence, and the ability to respond to dynamic root-derived chemical gradients associated with newly developing root tissues. We argue that inoculant motility should be elevated from a passive descriptive trait to a core design parameter that can be systematically incorporated and regulated during the development and optimization of microbial inoculants. We outline a multi-tiered strategic framework for next-generation biofertilizer engineering that integrates strain selection, community design, motility regulation, and deployment strategies, thereby unlocking the full potential of synthetic microbial consortia for sustainable agriculture, ecosystem restoration, and climate change mitigation.

Biofertilizer↗