Plant sex alters rhizosphere microorganisms assembly of Salix gordejevii across diverse sandy habitats

The relationship between dioecious plants performance and soil rhizosphere microorganisms communities remains unclear, particularly in diverse sandy environments where sex dimorphism is observed.

The study extensively investigated the microbial communities associated with male and female Salix gordejevii, which are widely utilized for wind deterrence and sand fixation in the arid and semi-arid regions of Inner Mongolia's middle-east area. Illumina sequencing was employed to examine the fungal and bacterial communities in the rhizospheres of male and female S. gordejevii plants across mobile, semi- fixed, and fixed sandy lands.

It was found that the bacterial community composition was largely affected by the sandy land types. The fungal community composition, however, was influenced by both the plant sexes and the site conditions. In the moving sandy land, diversity of fungi and bacteria in the rhizosphere of S. gordejevii was lower than that in the fixed sandy land. The assembly of the bacterial community in the rhizosphere of S. gordejevii was regulated by soil properties, with pH being identified as the most influential factor impacting bacterial diversity and richness.

The rhizospheres of S. gordejevii in different sandy lands exhibited a shared core community of fungi and bacteria, known for their ability to enhance plant growth and confer resistance against abiotic stress. These findings unveil the sexual dimorphism of rhizosphere microorganisms in S. gordejevii, and also contribute to our understanding of microbial diversity in restoring degraded ecosystems.