The construction of synthetic communities improved the yield and quality of Salvia miltiorrhiza Bge.

Abstract

Salvia miltiorrhiza Bge. is a cultivated medicinal plant widely used to treat multiple diseases in Asia, however, with the expansion of the cultivation area, the yield lossed and quality decreased, which seriously restricted the sustainable development of the S. miltiorrhiza planting industry. Using endophytic fungi to improve the yield and active ingredient content of medicinal plants is a feasible method. However, scant information exists on the effects of SynComs in different niches on the quality and yield or the mechanisms underlying their interactions with host plants. 11 synthetic communities (SynComs) were constructed according to different niches based on 11 strains of non-pathogenic fungi screened in the early stage of the laboratory. Greenhouse and field experiments were conducted to determine the effects of SynComs on the biomass and secondary metabolism of medicinal plants, and the mechanism of SynComs promoting the development of S. miltiorrhiza was studied using un-targeted metabolomics. The results showed that a distant combination of functional strains might effectively construct SynComs to improve yield or quality. Additionally, root metabolome analysis identified that SynComs could promote the high quality and yield of S. miltiorrhiza by enriching growth metabolism and biosynthesis pathways. This study details the effects of SynComs constructed based on different niches on yield and quality and the regulatory mechanisms of SynComs promoting the high quality and yield of S. miltiorrhiza. Furthermore, we acquire SynComs that have economic value for use in field cultivation, serving as the foothold for the precise and sustainable cultivation of medicinal plants.