Dataset Information

Enrichment of Verrucomicrobia, Actinobacteria and Burkholderiales drives selection of bacterial community from soil by maize roots in a traditional milpa agroecosystem.

ABSTRACT: Milpas are rain-fed agroecosystems involving domesticated, semi-domesticated and tolerated plant species that combine maize with a large variety of other crop, tree or shrub species. Milpas are low input and low-tillage, yet highly productive agroecosystems, which have been maintained over millennia in indigenous communities in Mexico and other countries in Central America. Thus, milpas may retain ancient plant-microorganisms interactions, which could have been lost in modern high-tillage monocultures with large agrochemical input. In this work, we performed high-throughput 16S ribosomal DNA sequencing of soil adjacent to maize roots and bulk soil sampled at 30 cm from the base of the plants. We found that the bacterial communities of maize root soil had a lower alpha diversity, suggesting selection of microorganisms by maize-roots from the bulk-soil community. Beta diversity analysis confirmed that these environments harbor two distinct microbial communities; differences were driven by members of phyla Verrucomicrobia and Actinobacteria, as well as the order Burkholderiales (Betaproteobacteria), all of which had higher relative abundance in soil adjacent to the roots. Numerous studies have shown the influence of maize plants on bacterial communities found in soil attached tightly to the roots; here we further show that the influence of maize roots at milpas on bacterial communities is detectable even in plant-free soil collected nearby. We propose that members of Verrucomicrobia and other phyla found in the rhizosphere may establish beneficial plant-microbe interactions with maize roots in milpas, and propose to address their cultivation for future studies on ecology and potential use.

SUBMITTER: Aguirre-von-Wobeser E

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6301694 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Enrichment of Verrucomicrobia, Actinobacteria and Burkholderiales drives selection of bacterial community from soil by maize roots in a traditional milpa agroecosystem.

Aguirre-von-Wobeser Eneas E Rocha-Estrada Jorge J Shapiro Lori R LR de la Torre Mayra M

PloS one 20181220 12

Milpas are rain-fed agroecosystems involving domesticated, semi-domesticated and tolerated plant species that combine maize with a large variety of other crop, tree or shrub species. Milpas are low input and low-tillage, yet highly productive agroecosystems, which have been maintained over millennia in indigenous communities in Mexico and other countries in Central America. Thus, milpas may retain ancient plant-microorganisms interactions, which could have been lost in modern high-tillage monocu ...[more]

PMID: 30571782

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Project description:Agricultural practices affect the bacterial community structure, but how they determine the response of the bacterial community to drought, is still largely unknown. Conventional cultivated soil, i.e., inorganic fertilization, tillage, crop residue removal and maize (Zea mays L.) monoculture, and traditional organic farmed soil "milpa," i.e., minimum tillage, rotation of maize, pumpkin (Cucurbita sp.) and beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) and organic fertilization were sampled. Both soils from the central highlands of Mexico were characterized and incubated aerobically at 5% field capacity (5%FC) and 100% field capacity (FC) for 45 days, while the C and N mineralization, enzyme activity and the bacterial community structure were monitored. After applying the different agricultural practices 3 years, the organic C content was 1.8-times larger in the milpa than in the conventional cultivated soil, the microbial biomass C 1.3-times, and C and N mineralization 2.0-times (mean for soil incubated at 5%FC and FC). The dehydrogenase, activity was significantly higher in the conventional cultivated soil than in the milpa soil when incubated at 5%FC, but not when incubated at FC. The relative abundance of Gemmatimonadetes was larger in the conventional cultivated soil than in the milpa soil in soil both at 5%FC and FC, while that of Bacteroidetes showed an opposite trend. The relative abundance of other groups, such as Nitrospirae and Proteobacteria, was affected by cultivation technique, but controlled by soil water content. The relative abundance of other groups, e.g., FBP, Gemmatimonadetes and Proteobacteria, was affected by water content, but the effect depended on agricultural practice. For soil incubated at FC, the xenobiotics biodegradation and metabolism related functions were higher in the milpa soil than in the conventional cultivated soil, and carbohydrate metabolism showed an opposite trend. It was found that agricultural practices and soil water content had a strong effect on soil characteristics, C and N mineralization, enzyme activity, and the bacterial community structure and its functionality. Decreases or increases in the relative abundance of bacterial groups when the soil water content decreased, i.e., from FC to 5%FC, was defined often by the cultivation technique, and the larger organic matter content in the milpa soil did not prevent large changes in the bacterial community structure when the soil was dried.

Dataset Information

Enrichment of Verrucomicrobia, Actinobacteria and Burkholderiales drives selection of bacterial community from soil by maize roots in a traditional milpa agroecosystem.

Publications

Enrichment of Verrucomicrobia, Actinobacteria and Burkholderiales drives selection of bacterial community from soil by maize roots in a traditional milpa agroecosystem.

Similar Datasets

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