Root Diameter-Associated Exudates Drive the Changes in Rhizosphere Microbial communities
摘要
Plant–microbe interactions in soil rhizosphere driven by root exudate metabolites are receiving increasing research attention. Medicinal plants possess a wide range of root-derived metabolites with unique characteristics. It is pertinent to understand how root systems of medicinal plants influence microbial populations in the rhizosphere. This work involved high-throughput sequencing of microorganisms, root exudate analysis with gas chromatography, and time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Soil rhizospheres of three varying Amomum villosum root diameters revealed a diverse microbiome and root exudate metabolites. Metabolite contents in root exudates and the relative abundance of Acidobacteria and Chloroflexi significantly differed in the rhizospheres of three varying diameters of A. villosum. Moreover, root exudates promoted the growth of Actinobacteriota, Basidiomycota, and Proteobacteria while inhibiting that of Acidobacteriota and Chloroflexi in soil rhizospheres. Our results suggest that root exudates, associated with root diameter, changed the microbiome diversity of the soil rhizosphere.