Effects of Sphaeropsis Blight on Rhizosphere Soil Bacterial Community Structure and Soil Physicochemical Properties of Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica in Zhanggutai, China

Saiyaremu Halifu,Ruiqing Song,Yuning An,Xiaoshuang Song,Xun Deng

doi:10.3390/f10110954

Saiyaremu Halifu, Ruiqing Song + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/f10110954

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Abstract

Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica is an important tree species for ecological construction and environmental restoration owing to its rapid growth rate and excellent stress resistance. Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica sphaeropsis blight is a widespread disease caused by Sphaeropsis sapinea. This study was focused on non-infected (CK) and infected (SS) Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica plants in Zhanggutai area, Liaoning Province, China. Illumina high-throughput sequencing based on the templates of sequencing-by-synthesis working with reversible terminators is a widely used approach. In the present study, systematic differences in relationships among rhizosphere soil physicochemical properties, bacterial community structure, diverse bacterial genera, and alpha diversity indices between the two categories were evaluated. The current findings are as follows: (1) Shannon’s index of SS soil was significantly higher than CK, and it was significantly lower in May than July and September (p < 0.05). (2) Non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) showed a difference in bacterial community structure during May (spring), July (summer), and September. (3) At the phylum level, no significant difference was found in the bacterial genera between CK and SS soil for three seasons; however, at the genus level, there were about 19 different bacterial genera. The correlation studies between 19 different bacterial genera and environmental factors and α-diversity indicated that bacterial genera of non-infected and infected Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica were distributed differently. The bacterial genera with CK were positively correlated with soil physicochemical properties, while a negative correlation was found for SS. In conclusion, the differences in nutrient and microbial community structure in the rhizosphere soil of Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica are the main causes of shoot blight disease.

Highlights

Soil bacteria, being one of the most abundant bacteria [1], play a vital role in several biochemical reactions, such as soil nutrient transformation, nutrient metabolism, organic matter decomposition, and humus formation [2,3,4]
The correlation studies between 19 different bacterial genera and environmental factors and α-diversity indicated that bacterial genera of non-infected and infected Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica were distributed differently
The bacterial genera with CK were positively correlated with soil physicochemical properties, while a negative correlation was found for SS

Summary

Introduction

Soil bacteria, being one of the most abundant bacteria [1], play a vital role in several biochemical reactions, such as soil nutrient transformation, nutrient metabolism, organic matter decomposition, and humus formation [2,3,4]. These reactions maintain the soil nutrient balance in order to improve plant nutrient availability and work as a source and sink of effective nutrients in soil [5,6]. In comparison with high-throughput sequencing, these methods have their own drawbacks, such as low throughput and inadequate information [14]

Results

Discussion

Conclusion