Scholarlink

Background <p>Verticillium wilt, caused by <i>Verticillium dahliae</i> Kleb., is a devastating soilborne disease threatening global cotton production. Intercropping is a sustainable agricultural practice known to suppress soilborne diseases, yet the microbiome-mediated mechanisms underlying its efficacy against Verticillium wilt remain poorly understood.</p> Results <p>A three-year field trial (2019–2021) showed that intercropping cotton with mustard significantly reduced Verticillium wilt severity (32.11–39.2%), increased yield (13.88–23.22%), and lowered soil microsclerotia density. Intercropping reshaped soil microbial communities and enriched a core set of beneficial taxa compared to monocropping, generating more complex and cooperative rhizosphere networks during flowering and boll stage. We then constructed an intercropping-enriched synthetic community (IC-SynCom) from the enriched core microbiotas with multiple beneficial traits; this consortium, comprising <i>Bacillus altitudinis</i> strain CRB-021, <i>Lysobacter firmicutimachus</i> strain CRB-253, <i>Rhizobium soli</i> strain CRB-314, <i>Enterobacter hormaechei</i> strain CRB-070, and <i>Pantoea</i> sp. strain CRB-006, achieved the highest control efficacy at 72.83 ± 1.31%, promoted cotton growth, and outperformed single-strain inoculants. qRT-PCR further showed that IC-SynCom activated systemic plant defenses by the upregulation of key defense-related genes, including phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (<i>GhPAL</i>), cinnamate 4-hydroxylase (<i>GhC4H1</i>), pathogenesis-related protein 10 (<i>GhPR10</i>), peroxidase (<i>GhPOD</i>), and β-1,3-glucanase (<i>Gh</i>β-1,3<i>-glucanase</i>), which are involved in salicylic acid signaling and lignin biosynthesis.</p> Conclusions <p>Our findings demonstrate that intercropping enhances soil’s capacity to suppress Verticillium wilt by reshaping root-associated microbiomes. A core consortium of intercropping-enriched beneficial microbes (IC-SynCom) effectively suppresses Verticillium wilt through direct antagonism and activation of plant immunity. These results highlight the potential of microbiome-based strategies for sustainable management of soilborne diseases.</p> Graphical abstract <p></p>

错误：搜索内容不能为空，请输入英文关键词
错误：关键词超出字数限制，请精简
高级检索

Intercropping-mediated enrichment of core microbiome enhances suppression of Verticillium wilt in cotton

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

    开放获取

  • 发表日期：

    2025年12月23日

查看全文
  • Chuanzhen Yang,
  • Hongchen Yue,
  • Aixin Sun,
  • Zili Feng,
  • Hongjie Feng,
  • Yalin Zhang,
  • Lihong Zhao,
  • Jinglong Zhou,
  • Heqin Zhu,
  • Feng Wei

摘要

Background

Verticillium wilt, caused by Verticillium dahliae Kleb., is a devastating soilborne disease threatening global cotton production. Intercropping is a sustainable agricultural practice known to suppress soilborne diseases, yet the microbiome-mediated mechanisms underlying its efficacy against Verticillium wilt remain poorly understood.

Results

A three-year field trial (2019–2021) showed that intercropping cotton with mustard significantly reduced Verticillium wilt severity (32.11–39.2%), increased yield (13.88–23.22%), and lowered soil microsclerotia density. Intercropping reshaped soil microbial communities and enriched a core set of beneficial taxa compared to monocropping, generating more complex and cooperative rhizosphere networks during flowering and boll stage. We then constructed an intercropping-enriched synthetic community (IC-SynCom) from the enriched core microbiotas with multiple beneficial traits; this consortium, comprising Bacillus altitudinis strain CRB-021, Lysobacter firmicutimachus strain CRB-253, Rhizobium soli strain CRB-314, Enterobacter hormaechei strain CRB-070, and Pantoea sp. strain CRB-006, achieved the highest control efficacy at 72.83 ± 1.31%, promoted cotton growth, and outperformed single-strain inoculants. qRT-PCR further showed that IC-SynCom activated systemic plant defenses by the upregulation of key defense-related genes, including phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (GhPAL), cinnamate 4-hydroxylase (GhC4H1), pathogenesis-related protein 10 (GhPR10), peroxidase (GhPOD), and β-1,3-glucanase (Ghβ-1,3-glucanase), which are involved in salicylic acid signaling and lignin biosynthesis.

Conclusions

Our findings demonstrate that intercropping enhances soil’s capacity to suppress Verticillium wilt by reshaping root-associated microbiomes. A core consortium of intercropping-enriched beneficial microbes (IC-SynCom) effectively suppresses Verticillium wilt through direct antagonism and activation of plant immunity. These results highlight the potential of microbiome-based strategies for sustainable management of soilborne diseases.

Graphical abstract