Host genotype-specific rhizosphere protists associate soil-borne viral disease resistance in wheat

The importance of protists in plant growth and health has already been widely studied. However, protists are rarely associated with soil-borne viral disease and how plant genotype can affect these interactions.

Here, we investigated rhizosphere protists linked with wheat yellow mosaic disease resistance and susceptibility in cultivars during the wheat seedling to the jointing stages of plant growth.

Our results showed that disease-resistant wheat cultivars exhibited significantly lower infection rates under field conditions, which were associated with higher protistan diversity and stability during early plant development. Furthermore, disease-resistant cultivars exhibited higher relative abundance of predatory protists, such as Colpodida, Litostomatea, and Oligohymenophorea, which may support plant health and disease resistance during the seedling to jointing stages. Moreover, our results demonstrate that the protistan compositional stability at the seedling stage can predict wheat health and pathogen susceptibility.

These findings highlight the potential of manipulating the abundance and composition of seedling-stage protists to enhance plant disease resistance. Our findings provide novel insights into protist dynamics influenced by host traits and their implications for disease resistance and plant health, thereby offering potential strategies for agricultural biocontrol and disease management.