Diversity and influencing factors of microbial communities in rhizosphere and nonrhizosphere soils of tea plant

Soil quality is crucial for the growth and development of tea plants. Although the tea rhizosphere microbial composition and function have been extensively studied, few comparative studies have been performed to explore the different ecological niches of tea plants’ microbes and their response to current global warming.

In this study, we selected a typical tea plant soil located in Chibi city, Hubei Province, China and collected samples during different seasons from rhizosphere and nonrhizosphere of tea plants. Using the Microbial phospholipid fatty acid analysis method and high-throughput sequencing to analyze the functions of dominant bacterial communities and strategies for coping with different environmental pressures.

The results showed that 19:0 cyclo ω7c was the dominant peak in both the rhizosphere and nonrhizosphere environments in winter compared with 16:0 in both the rhizosphere and nonrhizosphere soil in summer. The composition of PLFAs and a series of derived parameters were regulated by environmental factors such as soil pH, redox potential, total organic carbon, total nitrogen and NO₃⁻-N content. In addition, the tea plant soil microorganisms differed significantly under the different temperature stresses, with significant enrichment of Ktedonobacteria and Micrococcaceae in winter and of Gammaproteobacteria and Proteobacteria in summer.

The rhizosphere and nonrhizosphere soil microbial communities of tea plants were co-regulated by the root secretions growth conditions of tea plants, the fertilization conditions and the temperature stress.