Project description:Background: The soil environment is responsible for sustaining most terrestrial plant life on earth, yet we know surprisingly little about the important functions carried out by diverse microbial communities in soil. Soil microbes that inhabit the channels of decaying root systems, the detritusphere, are likely to be essential for plant growth and health, as these channels are the preferred locations of new root growth. Understanding the microbial metagenome of the detritusphere and how it responds to agricultural management such as crop rotations and soil tillage will be vital for improving global food production. Methods: The rhizosphere soils of wheat and chickpea growing under + and - decaying root were collected for metagenomics sequencing. A gene catalogue was established by de novo assembling metagenomic sequencing. Genes abundance was compared between bulk soil and rhizosphere soils under different treatments. Conclusions: The study describes the diversity and functional capacity of a high-quality soil microbial metagenome. The results demonstrate the contribution of the microbiome from decaying root in determining the metagenome of developing root systems, which is fundamental to plant growth, since roots preferentially inhabit previous root channels. Modifications in root microbial function through soil management, can ultimately govern plant health, productivity and food security.
Project description:The central part of Brazil, consisting mostly of the Cerrado Biome, is considered to be the new frontier for increasing Brazilian wheat production. However, rainfed wheat production in that area must cope with drought stress. In order to better understand the drought response, we analyzed the mRNA profiling under drought in roots and leaves of the cultivar MGS1 Aliança (a well-adapted cultivar to the Cerrado). We identified 4,422 candidate genes in roots and leaves.
Project description:Vriesea longistaminea is an epiphytic plant species found in the Brazilian Cerrado with ability to thrive in diverse soil conditions. This study presents a comparative proteomic analysis of V. longistaminea tissues collected from canga and quartzite soils, aiming to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying its adaptation to different soil substrates. Proteins were extracted from plant tissues and analyzed using LC-MS/MS. The results revealed significant differences in the proteomic profiles between V. longistaminea tissues from canga and quartzite soils. Proteins involved in stress response, nutrient uptake, and metabolism were found to be differentially expressed, suggesting that V. longistaminea adapts its proteome to cope with the distinct soil characteristics. Our findings provide valuable insights into the molecular basis of plant adaptation to edaphic factors and highlights the importance of proteomic analysis in understanding plant-soil interactions.