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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Albany, California » Plant Gene Expression Center » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #355660
Research Project: Discovery of Plant Genetic Mechanisms Controlling Microbial Recruitment to the Root Microbiome

Location: Plant Gene Expression Center

Title: Drought delays development of the sorghum root microbiome and enriches for monoderm bacteria

Author
item XU, LING - University Of California
item NAYLOR, DANIEL - University Of California
item DONG, ZHAOBIN - University Of California
item SIMMONS, TUESDAY - University Of California
item PIERROZ, GRADY - University Of California
item HIXSON, KIM - Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
item YOUNG, MA KIM - Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
item ZINK, ERIKA - Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
item ENGBRECHT, KRISTIN - Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
item WANG, YI - University Of California
item GAO, CHENG - University Of California
item DEGRAFF, STEPAHNIE - University Of California
item MADERA, MARY - University Of California
item SIEVERT, JULIE - Kearney Agricultural Center
item HOLLINGSWORTH, JOY - Kearney Agricultural Center
item BIRDSEYE, DEVON - Joint Bioenergy Institute (JBEI)
item SCHELLER, HENRIK - Joint Bioenergy Institute (JBEI)
item HUTMACHER, ROBERT - University Of California
item DAHLBERG, JEFFEREY - Kearney Agricultural Center
item JANSSON, CHRISTER - Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
item TAYLOR, JOHN - University Of California
item LEMAUX, PEGGY - University Of California
item Coleman-Derr, Devin

Submitted to: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/7/2017
Publication Date: 4/16/2018
Citation: Xu, L., Naylor, D., Dong, Z., Simmons, T., Pierroz, G., Hixson, K., Young, M., Zink, E.M., Engbrecht, K., Wang, Y., Gao, C., Degraff, S., Madera, M., Sievert, J.A., Hollingsworth, J., Birdseye, D., Scheller, H., Hutmacher, R., Dahlberg, J., Jansson, C., Taylor, J., Lemaux, P., Coleman-Derr, D.A. 2018. Drought delays development of the sorghum root microbiome and enriches for monoderm bacteria. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 115(18):E4284-E4293.

Interpretive Summary: Drought stress is a major obstacle to crop productivity, and the severity and frequency of drought are expected to increase in the coming century. Certain root-associated bacteria have been shown to mitigate the negative effects of drought stress on plant growth, and manipulation of the crop microbiome is an emerging strategy for overcoming drought stress in agricultural systems, yet the effect of drought on the development of the root microbiome is poorly understood. Here we demonstrate that drought delays the development of the root microbiome and enriches for a particular type of bacterial endophyte, which has potential implications for crop fitness

Technical Abstract: Through 16S rRNA amplicon and metatranscriptome sequencing, as well as root metabolomics, we demonstrate that drought delays the development of the early sorghum root microbiome and causes increased abundance and activity of monoderm bacteria, which lack an outer cell membrane and contain thick cell walls. Our data suggest that altered plant metabolism and increased activity of bacterial ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter genes are correlated with these shifts in community composition. Finally, inoculation experiments with monoderm isolates indicate that increased colonization of the root during drought can positively impact plant growth. Collectively, these results demonstrate the role that drought plays in restructuring the root microbiome and highlight the importance of temporal sampling when studying plant-associated microbiomes.