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Responses of the Soil Microbial Community to Salinity Stress in Maize Fields.

ABSTRACT: To investigate the diversity and structure of soil bacterial and fungal communities in saline soils, soil samples with three increasing salinity levels (S1, S2 and S3) were collected from a maize field in Yanqi, Xinjiang Province, China. The results showed that the K⁺, Na⁺, Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺ values in the bulk soil were higher than those in the rhizosphere soil, with significant differences in S2 and S3 (p < 0.05). The enzyme activities of alkaline phosphatase (ALP), invertase, urease and catalase (CAT) were lower in the bulk soil than those in the rhizosphere. Principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) demonstrated that the soil microbial community structure exhibited significant differences between different salinized soils (p < 0.001). Data implied that the fungi were more susceptible to salinity stress than the bacteria based on the Shannon and Chao1 indexes. Mantel tests identified Ca²⁺, available phosphorus (AP), saturated electrical conductivity (EC_e) and available kalium (AK) as the dominant environmental factors correlated with bacterial community structures (p < 0.001); and AP, urease, Ca²⁺ and EC_e as the dominant factors correlated with fungal community structures (p < 0.001). The relative abundances of Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes showed positive correlations with the salinity gradient. Our findings regarding the bacteria having positive correlations with the level of salinization might be a useful biological indicator of microorganisms in saline soils.

SUBMITTER: Hou Y

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8614889 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:Soil types heavily influence ecological dynamics. It remains controversial to what extent soil types shape microbial responses to land management changes, largely due to lack of in-depth comparison across various soil types. Here, we collected samples from three major zonal soil types spanning from cold temperate to subtropical climate zones. We examined bacterial and fungal community structures, as well as microbial functional genes. Different soil types had distinct microbial biomass levels and community compositions. Five years of maize cropping (growing corn or maize) changed the bacterial community composition of the Ultisol soil type and the fungal composition of the Mollisol soil type but had little effect on the microbial composition of the Inceptisol soil type. Meanwhile, 5 years of fertilization resulted in soil acidification. Microbial compositions of the Mollisol and Ultisol, but not the Inceptisol, were changed and correlated (P < 0.05) with soil pH. These results demonstrated the critical role of soil type in determining microbial responses to land management changes. We also found that soil nitrification potentials correlated with the total abundance of nitrifiers and that soil heterotrophic respiration correlated with the total abundance of carbon degradation genes, suggesting that changes in microbial community structure had altered ecosystem processes. IMPORTANCE Microbial communities are essential drivers of soil functional processes such as nitrification and heterotrophic respiration. Although there is initial evidence revealing the importance of soil type in shaping microbial communities, there has been no in-depth, comprehensive survey to robustly establish it as a major determinant of microbial community composition, functional gene structure, or ecosystem functioning. We examined bacterial and fungal community structures using Illumina sequencing, microbial functional genes using GeoChip, microbial biomass using phospholipid fatty acid analysis, as well as functional processes of soil nitrification potential and CO2 efflux. We demonstrated the critical role of soil type in determining microbial responses to land use changes at the continental level. Our findings underscore the inherent difficulty in generalizing ecosystem responses across landscapes and suggest that assessments of community feedback must take soil types into consideration. Author Video: An author video summary of this article is available.

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Responses of the Soil Microbial Community to Salinity Stress in Maize Fields.

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