4.6 Article

Rhizobium Soaking Promoted Maize Growth by Altering Rhizosphere Microbiomes and Associated Functional Genes

Journal

MICROORGANISMS
Volume 11, Issue 7, Pages -

Publisher

MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms11071654

Keywords

Bradyrhizobium japonicum; growth; gene expression; soil microorganism; Zea mays

Categories

Ask authors/readers for more resources

In this study, soaking maize seeds in Bradyrhizobium japonicum significantly increased the roots, stalks, and fresh weight of maize. Transcriptome sequencing results showed that multiple growth and development-related genes were highly up-regulated in the whole maize plant soaked in B. japonicum. Moreover, the abundance of plant growth promoting bacteria increased while the abundance of multiple pathogens decreased. Inoculation with B. japonicum also inhibited the infection of the pathogen Fusarium graminearum in maize. These findings suggest that soaking seeds in B. japonicum can affect the expression of maize growth and development-related genes through changing the soil microorganism community structure, providing new opportunities for food security.
Rhizobium is a Gram-negative bacterium, which dissolves minerals, produces growth hormones, promotes root growth, and protects plants from different soil-borne pathogens. In the present study, roots, stalks, and fresh weight of maize (Zea mays L.) were significantly increased after soaking in Bradyrhizobium japonicum compared with the control. Subsequently, transcriptome sequencing results of the whole maize plant soaked in B. japonicum showed that multiple growth and development-related genes were up-regulated more than 100-fold compared to the control. Furthermore, the abundance of plant growth promoting bacteria, such as Acidobacteria Subgroup_6 and Chloroflexi KD4-96, were increased significantly. On the contrary, the abundance of multiple pathogens, such as Curvularia, Fusarium and Mycocentrospora, were significantly decreased. Moreover, inoculation with B. japonicum could inhibit the infection of the pathogen Fusarium graminearum in maize. These results suggest that soaking seeds in B. japonicum may affect the expression of maize growth and development-related genes as the bacteria changes the soil microorganism community structure. These findings may help to expand the application of B. japonicum in crop production and provide new opportunities for food security.

Authors

I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.

Reviews

Primary Rating

4.6
Not enough ratings

Secondary Ratings

Novelty
-
Significance
-
Scientific rigor
-
Rate this paper

Recommended

No Data Available
No Data Available