Abstract
Under consecutive monoculture, the biomass and quality of Pseudostellaria heterophylla declines significantly. In this study, a three-year field experiment was conducted to identify typical growth inhibition effects caused by extended monoculturing of P. heterophylla. Deep pyrosequencing was used to examine changes in the structure and composition of soil fungal community along a three-year gradient of monoculture. The results revealed a distinct separation between the newly planted plot and the two-year, three-year monocultured plots. The Shannon and Simpson diversity indices were significantly higher in the two-year and three-year monoculture soils than in the newly planted soil. Consecutive monoculture of this plant led to a significant increase in relative abundance of Fusarium, Trichocladium and Myrothecium and Simplicillium, etc., but a significant decrease in the relative abundance of Penicillium. Quantitative PCR analysis confirmed a significant increase in Fusarium oxysporum, an agent known to cause wilt and rot disease of P. heterophylla. Furthermore, phenolic acid mixture at a ratio similar to that found in the rhizosphere could promote mycelial growth of pathogenic F. oxysporum. Overall, this study demonstrated that consecutive monoculture of P. heterophylla can alter the fungal community in the rhizosphere, including enrichment of host-specific pathogenic fungi at the expense of plant-beneficial fungi.
Highlights
Under consecutive monoculture, the biomass and quality of Pseudostellaria heterophylla declines significantly
P. heterophylla contains various active constituents, including saponins, polysaccharides, amino acids, cyclopeptides and sapogenins. This plant provides treatments for spleen deficiency, anorexia, hyperirritability, palpitation and lassitude ailments[1]. It is mainly planted in the so-called geo-authentic production region, which has the most suitable soil and climate conditions; consecutive monoculture of this medicinal plant in the same land leads to a significant decline in the yield and quality of the underground tubers because of increasing disease pressure, which is known as soil sickness or consecutive monoculture problem[2]
Studies of consecutive monoculture problems have centered on nutrient availability and the autotoxicity of allelochemicals released by roots[3,4]
Summary
The biomass and quality of Pseudostellaria heterophylla declines significantly. The Shannon and Simpson diversity indices were significantly higher in the two-year and three-year monoculture soils than in the newly planted soil. This study demonstrated that consecutive monoculture of P. heterophylla can alter the fungal community in the rhizosphere, including enrichment of host-specific pathogenic fungi at the expense of plant-beneficial fungi. P. heterophylla contains various active constituents, including saponins, polysaccharides, amino acids, cyclopeptides and sapogenins This plant provides treatments for spleen deficiency, anorexia, hyperirritability, palpitation and lassitude ailments[1]. It is mainly planted in the so-called geo-authentic production region, which has the most suitable soil and climate conditions; consecutive monoculture of this medicinal plant in the same land leads to a significant decline in the yield and quality of the underground tubers because of increasing disease pressure, which is known as soil sickness or consecutive monoculture problem[2]. This study was conducted to evaluate how the abundance and composition of the soil fungal community change with the increasing years of monoculture and which soil properties contribute to shape fungal community structure
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