Rhizospheric microbiomes help Dongxiang common wild rice (Oryza rufipogon Griff.) rather than Leersia hexandra Swartz survive under cold stress

Abstract

ABSTRACT Dongxiang common wild rice (CWR) is extremely cold tolerant, which can grow at the northernmost latitudes. To take full advantage of Dongxiang CWR’s cold tolerance for rice production and breeding, it is important to obtain a deep understanding of the mechanism underlying its cold tolerance. In this study, the rhizospheric microbiome of CWR was investigated and compared with that of Leersia hexandra Swartz (LHS) in Dongxiang to clarify the role of the rhizospheric microbiome in CWR cold tolerance. The results showed that, compared with the LHS rhizospheric microbiome, the CWR rhizospheric microbiome was less diverse and smaller, as indicated by its lower diversity and richness indices and fewer detected groups, core genera, and indicator genera. However, a larger proportion of the CWR indicator genera and unique genera, including Acidiphilium, Mortierella, Glomus, etc. showed the ability to adapt to low temperatures, indicating that CWR was more likely to be associated with microbial groups that may enhance cold tolerance. The results indicated that the extreme cold tolerance of Dongxiang CWR benefited from its rhizospheric microbiome, and this cold tolerance was speculated to benefit more from key microbial groups (indicator genera and unique genera) than from microbial diversity.