Changes in the composition of rhizosphere bacterial communities in response to soil types and acid rain

It is widely known how acid rain negatively impacts plant physiology. However, the magnitude of these effects may depend on soil types. Although the response of aboveground parts has received much attention, the effects of soil types and acid rain on underground processes are yet to be studied, specifically with respect to the composition and diversity of bacterial communities in the rhizosphere. Based on a high throughput sequencing approach, this study examined how different soil types, acid rain of different pH, and interactions between the two factors influenced the growth and rhizosphere bacterial communities of Jatropha curcas L. The present study pointed out that the soil pH, total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), total potassium (TK), and total organic carbon/total nitrogen (C/N) were more related to soil type than to acid rain. The growth of J. curcas aboveground was mainly affected by acid rain, while the underground growth was mainly influenced by soil type. Changes in bacterial abundance indicated that the genera (Burkholderia-Paraburkholde, Bryobacter, Cupriavidus, Mycobacterium, and Leptospirillu) and phyla (Acidobacteria and Actinobacteria) could likely resist acid rain to some extent, with Acidobacteria, Gemmatimonadetes and Proteobacteria being well adapted to the copiotrophic environments. Results of correlational analyses between Firmicutes and soil properties (pH, TN, TK) further indicated that this phylum was also well adapted to a nutrient-deficient habitat of low pH. Finally, while Mycobacterium and Bradyrhizobium could adapt to low pH, high soil TK contents were not conducive to their enrichment. The results also showed that acid rain shifted the bacterial groups from fast-growing copiotrophic populations to slow-growing oligotrophic ones. The RDA analysis, and Pearson's rank correlation coefficients indicated that soil pH and TK were the main factors influencing bacterial richness.

Automated summary

It is important to understand the impact of acid rain on plant physiology, and this study investigated the effects of different soil types and acid rain pH on the growth and bacterial communities of Jatropha curcas. The results showed that soil type had a greater influence on underground growth, while acid rain mainly affected aboveground growth. Certain bacteria were found to be resistant to acid rain, and the richness of bacterial communities was mainly influenced by soil pH and total potassium.