Soybean microbiome composition and the impact of host plant resistance

Dung T Tran; Melissa G Mitchum; Shuzhen Zhang; Jason G Wallace; Zenglu Li

doi:10.3389/fpls.2023.1326882

Soybean microbiome composition and the impact of host plant resistance

Front Plant Sci. 2024 Jan 15:14:1326882. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1326882. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Dung T Tran¹, Melissa G Mitchum², Shuzhen Zhang^{1

3}, Jason G Wallace¹, Zenglu Li¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, and Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics and Genomics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States.
² Department of Plant Pathology, and Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics and Genomics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States.
³ Soybean Research Institute, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, China.

Abstract

Microbial communities play an important role in the growth and development of plants, including plant immunity and the decomposition of complex substances into absorbable nutrients. Hence, utilizing beneficial microbes becomes a promising strategy for the optimization of plant growth. The objective of this research was to explore the root bacterial profile across different soybean genotypes and the change in the microbial community under soybean cyst nematode (SCN) infection in greenhouse conditions using 16S rRNA sequencing. Soybean genotypes with soybean cyst nematode (SCN) susceptible and resistant phenotypes were grown under field and greenhouse conditions. Bulked soil, rhizosphere, and root samples were collected from each replicate. Sequencing of the bacterial 16S gene indicated that the bacterial profile of soybean root and soil samples partially overlapped but also contained different communities. The bacterial phyla Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Bacteroidetes dominate the soybean root-enriched microbiota. The structure of bacteria was significantly affected by sample year (field) or time point (greenhouse). In addition, the host genotype had a small but significant effect on the diversity of the root microbiome under SCN pressure in the greenhouse test. These differences may potentially represent beneficial bacteria or secondary effects related to SCN resistance.

Keywords: 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing; Heterodera glycines; Inoculation; root microbiome; soybean; soybean cyst nematode.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This research was supported by the United Soybean Board and by the funds allocated to the Georgia Agricultural Experiment Stations.