Abstract
The ability to recognize and respond to environmental signals is essential for plants. In response to environmental changes, the status of a plant is transmitted to other plants in the form of signals such as volatiles. Root-associated bacteria trigger the release of plant volatile organic compounds (VOCs). However, the impact of VOCs on the rhizosphere microbial community of neighbouring plants is not well understood. Here, we investigated the effect of VOCs on the rhizosphere microbial community of tomato plants inoculated with a plant growth-promoting rhizobacterium Bacillus amyloliquefaciens strain GB03 and that of their neighbouring plants. Interestingly, high similarity (up to 69%) was detected in the rhizosphere microbial communities of the inoculated and neighbouring plants. Leaves of the tomato plant treated with strain GB03-released β-caryophyllene as a signature VOC, which elicited the release of a large amount of salicylic acid (SA) in the root exudates of a neighbouring tomato seedling. The exposure of tomato leaves to β-caryophyllene resulted in the secretion of SA from the root. Our results demonstrate for the first time that the composition of the rhizosphere microbiota in surrounding plants is synchronized through aerial signals from plants.
Highlights
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) represent one of the many plant-to-plant signalling systems [1]
A virulent strain of the bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato induced the release of β-ionone and α-farnesene from Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis) plants, while infection by an avirulent strain of this pathogen increased methyl salicylate (MeSA) release, suggesting that volatile material composition varies with the virulence of the pathogen [10]
To evaluate microbe-induced plant volatiles (MIPVs)-mediated modulation of rhizosphere microbiota of a neighbouring plant as a proof of concept, we established a miniature greenhouse equipped with a fan to generate air-flow (Fig. 1) and evaluated changes in the rhizosphere microbiota of emitter tomato
Summary
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) represent one of the many plant-to-plant signalling systems [1]. There has been no study on the microbiome aspects of the rhizosphere of volatile-emitter plants treated with PGPR and that of receiver (neighbouring) plants Root exudates such as sugars, organic acids, secondary metabolites and complex mucus-like polymers play a critical role in re-shaping the root microbiota [24]. In Arabidopsis, deletion of JA and SA biosynthesis genes altered the rhizosphere microbial community of mutant plants compared with that of wildtype plants [24, 25] It is unknown whether the release and function of MIPVs, following the application of biological control agents and PGPR on the root system, affect the composition of the rhizosphere microbiota of neighbouring plants. Our data demonstrate for the first time that an MIPV derived from a PGPR can serve as a driving force to modulate the rhizosphere microbiota of spatially distant plants
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