Abstract
Plant response to water stress can be modified by the rhizosphere microbial community, but the range of responses across plant genotypes is unclear. We imposed drought conditions on 116 Festuca arundinacea (tall fescue) accessions using a rainout shelter for 46 days, followed by irrigation, to stimulate drought recovery in 24 days. We hypothesized that prolonged water deficit results in a range of phenotypic diversity (i.e., green color index) across tall fescue genotypes that are associated with distinct microbial taxonomic and functional traits impacting plant drought tolerance. Microbial extracellular enzyme activities of chitinase and phenol oxidase (targeting chitin and lignin) increased in rhizospheres of the 20 most drought tolerant genotypes. Lower rates of fungal (dark septate) endophyte root infection were found in roots of the most drought tolerant genotypes. Bacterial 16S rRNA gene and fungal ITS sequencing showed shifts in microbial communities across water deficit conditions prior to drought, during drought, and at drought recovery, but was not patterned by drought tolerance levels of the plant host. The results suggest that taxonomic information from bacterial 16S rRNA gene and fungal ITS sequences provided little indication of microbial composition impacting drought tolerance of the host plant, but instead, microbial extracellular enzyme activities and root fungal infection results revealed patterned responses from drought.
Highlights
IntroductionMicrobiome influence on plant growth and development is a growing area of active research.Previous articles have demonstrated a role for the microbiome in drought tolerance [1,2]
Microbiome influence on plant growth and development is a growing area of active research.Previous articles have demonstrated a role for the microbiome in drought tolerance [1,2]
The results suggest that the soil microbial community may play a role in tall fescue tolerance to drought, despite little to no systematic differences in microbial composition based on 16S rRNA
Summary
Microbiome influence on plant growth and development is a growing area of active research.Previous articles have demonstrated a role for the microbiome in drought tolerance [1,2]. The interest in tall fescue as a drought tolerant turf and forage species has led to the production of many cultivated genotypes (Bonos et al, 2004; Karcher et al, 2008), and a large body of research that characterizes physiological [8], nutritional [9], and symbiotic [10,11,12] aspects of drought tolerance. These traits makes tall fescue an ideal model for investigations of soil microbial shifts corresponding to drought tolerance
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
