Plant-Soil-Microorganism: Diversity and Interactions

A special issue of Diversity (ISSN 1424-2818). This special issue belongs to the section "Biodiversity Conservation".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2022) | Viewed by 8344

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agroecosystems, Center for Grassland Microbiome, and College of Pastoral, Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730020, China
Interests: soil biodiversity; plant-microorganism interaction; rhizosphere; ecosystem function; nitrogen cycling; global change; biogeographic pattern; grassland; agroecosystem

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Plant–microbe interaction is a complex and dynamic process that has experienced long-term evolution with environmental changes on earth. Interactions between plants and microorganisms play a fundamental role in maintaining biodiversity and terrestrial ecosystem functioning (e.g., plant productivity and soil fertility) by influencing plant growth and fitness, soil biogeochemical cycles, and competitive ability for nutrients. The direction and magnitude of plant–microbe interactions can vary largely within and between species, and under human-induced global change such as climate warming, altered precipitation, and land-use change, which ultimately determine the positive or negative impacts of microorganisms on plant health. Investigating the associations of plants with microorganisms would thus be crucial for our understanding of how plants can benefit from their microbial partners. Soil and plant-associated microbiomes have enormous diversity in both natural and agricultural ecosystems. As the drivers of elemental biogeochemical cycling, microorganisms are the major determinants of terrestrial ecosystem stability and productivity. Similar to plants, most microbial taxa exhibit biogeographic patterns. However, the ecological drivers and mechanisms shaping these patterns may be different across taxa, habitats, and scales. There is now growing interest in exploring these research fields via the application of ecological theories, omics approaches, and machine learning methods. The papers presented in this Special Issue mainly focus on new and cutting-edge knowledge on the following interesting topics:

  • Soil biodiversity and ecosystem multifunctionality;
  • Host–microbiome interactions and plant health;
  • Soil microbial–plant diversity relationships;
  • Effects of climate change on microbial–plant interactions;
  • Diversity patterns and community assembly;
  • Evolutionary genetics of plant and microbial adaptation;
  • Microbial mediation of soil biogeochemical cycles;
  • Models and methodologies for plant–soil–microorganism feedbacks.

Prof. Dr. Xiaobo Wang
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • biodiversity
  • diversity patterns
  • ecosystem function
  • climate change
  • biogeochemical cycling

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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11 pages, 3235 KiB  
Article
Composition and Structural Characteristics of Rhizosphere Microorganisms of Polygonum sibiricum (Laxm.) Tzvelev in the Yellow River Delta
by Liping Zhao, Shuai Shang, Dongli Shi, Hui Xu and Jun Wang
Diversity 2022, 14(11), 965; https://doi.org/10.3390/d14110965 - 10 Nov 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1279
Abstract
The Polygonum sibiricum (Laxm.) Tzvelev, an important herbal species used to protect seawalls, has a solid resistance to salinity and alkali and can grow on alkali spots in saline–alkali soils. So far, the composition, population, and characteristics of its rhizosphere biological community related [...] Read more.
The Polygonum sibiricum (Laxm.) Tzvelev, an important herbal species used to protect seawalls, has a solid resistance to salinity and alkali and can grow on alkali spots in saline–alkali soils. So far, the composition, population, and characteristics of its rhizosphere biological community related to the adaptation salt–alkali environment were still unknown. In the present study, rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere soil samples from the P. sibiricum on Chenier Island were collected. High-throughput sequencing was conducted to obtain the structural diversity of rhizosphere microbial communities. Our results showed that the dominant bacteria groups in the rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere were Proteobacteria, Actinobacteriota, Gemmatimonadota, and Actinobacteriota. The dominant fungi groups in the rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere soil samples were Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, Chytridiomycota, and Mortierellomycota. The results of the ASVs (amplicon sequence variants) showed that fungi have more ASVs in common. The PERMANOVA analysis showed that the bacteria among different groups were significantly different. The PCoA (principal coordinates analysis) study also showed that the structures of the bacterial and fungal communities between the rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere were distinct. Function results showed that the relative abundance in COG (Clusters of Orthologous Groups of proteins) functional annotation was significantly different between the two groups. In addition to the general function prediction and carbohydrate transport and metabolism, the COG of the non-rhizosphere was higher than that of the rhizosphere. Our findings benefited the knowledge for studying and conserving the molecule-level adaptive mechanisms of P. sibiricum. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant-Soil-Microorganism: Diversity and Interactions)
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15 pages, 2381 KiB  
Article
Rhizosphere Soil Microbial Survival States and N-Related Process during Riparian Plant Dormancy: Influences of Plant Locations and Plant Species
by Chao Zhang, Jin Qian, Jing Hu, Yuanyuan Huang, Bianhe Lu and Yuxuan He
Diversity 2022, 14(8), 611; https://doi.org/10.3390/d14080611 - 28 Jul 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1614
Abstract
The plant dormancy period in the riparian zone affects the activity of microorganisms and their related nitrogen (N) process, which necessitates an investigation of the influence of the dormancy period on the microbial community. This study sampled two groups of soils (ashore and [...] Read more.
The plant dormancy period in the riparian zone affects the activity of microorganisms and their related nitrogen (N) process, which necessitates an investigation of the influence of the dormancy period on the microbial community. This study sampled two groups of soils (ashore and offshore soils) of two typical plants (Acorus calamus, Canna indica) in rhizosphere soils and bulk soils during the dormancy period to study the microbial communities. The results suggested that in ashore soils, especially in Canna indica soils, there was a lower abundance of N-related genes (4.79 × 106 copies/g) due to relatively competitive ecological niche competition because of possible sufficient substrate. Therefore, microbial communities still play a major role in the removal of N-related nutrients during plants’ dormancy period. In addition, the results also showed that during the plant dormancy period, the cell necrosis processes accounted for relatively lower proportions (15.75%, 7.54%, 21.46%, and 5.23% in ashore and offshore Canna indica and ashore and offshore Acorus calamus, respectively), suggesting an unexpected fairly strong microbial survival ability in the dormancy period compared to the commonly expected weak microbial state. This high microbial vitality provides us insight into the restoration of riparian soils during the plant dormancy period. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant-Soil-Microorganism: Diversity and Interactions)
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12 pages, 2548 KiB  
Article
Effects of Continuous Cropping on Bacterial Community and Diversity in Rhizosphere Soil of Industrial Hemp: A Five-Year Experiment
by Li Guo, Xiangwei Chen, Zeyu Li, Mingze Wang, Ye Che, Ling Zhang, Zeyu Jiang and Siyuan Jie
Diversity 2022, 14(4), 250; https://doi.org/10.3390/d14040250 - 28 Mar 2022
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2453
Abstract
Long-term continuous monoculture cultivation harms soil physicochemical and microbial communities in agricultural practices. However, little has been reported on the effect of continuous cropping of industrial hemp on bacterial community and diversity in the rhizosphere soil. Our study investigated the changes in physicochemical [...] Read more.
Long-term continuous monoculture cultivation harms soil physicochemical and microbial communities in agricultural practices. However, little has been reported on the effect of continuous cropping of industrial hemp on bacterial community and diversity in the rhizosphere soil. Our study investigated the changes in physicochemical properties and bacterial communities of industrial hemp rhizosphere soils in different continuous cropping years. The results showed that continuous cropping would reduce soil pH and available phosphorus (AP), while electrical conductivity (EC), available nitrogen (AN), and available potassium (AK) would increase. Soil bacterial diversity and richness index decreased with continuous cropping years. At the same time, continuous cropping marked Acidobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Gemmatimonadetes increase, and the Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria decreased. Moreover, we found that pH, AK, and AP were the critical factors associated with the changes in the abundance and structure of the bacterial community. Overall, our study first reported the effect of continuous cropping on the rhizosphere soil microflora of industrial hemp. The results can provide a theoretical basis for revealing the obstacle mechanism of continuous cropping of industrial hemp and contribute to the sustainable cultivation of industrial hemp in the future. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant-Soil-Microorganism: Diversity and Interactions)
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Review

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14 pages, 322 KiB  
Review
Plant–Microbe Interactions under the Action of Heavy Metals and under the Conditions of Flooding
by Evgeny A. Gladkov, Dmitry V. Tereshonok, Anna Y. Stepanova and Olga V. Gladkova
Diversity 2023, 15(2), 175; https://doi.org/10.3390/d15020175 - 26 Jan 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2368
Abstract
Heavy metals and flooding are among the primary environmental factors affecting plants and microorganisms. This review separately considers the impact of heavy metal contamination of soils on microorganisms and plants, on plant and microbial biodiversity, and on plant–microorganism interactions. The use of beneficial [...] Read more.
Heavy metals and flooding are among the primary environmental factors affecting plants and microorganisms. This review separately considers the impact of heavy metal contamination of soils on microorganisms and plants, on plant and microbial biodiversity, and on plant–microorganism interactions. The use of beneficial microorganisms is considered one of the most promising methods of increasing stress tolerance since plant-associated microbes reduce metal accumulation, so the review focuses on plant–microorganism interactions and their practical application in phytoremediation. The impact of flooding as an adverse environmental factor is outlined. It has been shown that plants and bacteria under flooding conditions primarily suffer from a lack of oxygen and activation of anaerobic microflora. The combined effects of heavy metals and flooding on microorganisms and plants are also discussed. In conclusion, we summarize the combined effects of heavy metals and flooding on microorganisms and plants. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant-Soil-Microorganism: Diversity and Interactions)
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