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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Pullman, Washington » WHGQ » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #415245
Research Project: Ecology and Genomics of Soilborne Pathogens, Beneficial Microbes, and the Microbiome of Wheat, Barley, and Biofuel Brassicas

Location: Wheat Health, Genetics, and Quality Research

Title: Phosphorus availability influences disease-suppressive soil microbiome through plant-microbe interactions

Author
item CAO, YIFAN - Nanjing Agricultural University
item SHEN, ZONGZHUAN - Nanjing Agricultural University
item ZHANG, NA - Nanjing Agricultural University
item DENG, XUHUI - Nanjing Agricultural University
item Thomashow, Linda
item LIDBURY, IAN - University Of Sheffield
item LIU, HONGJUN - Nanjing Agricultural University
item LI, RONG - Nanjing Agricultural University
item SHEN, QIRONG - Nanjing Agricultural University
item KOWALCHUK, GEORGE - Utrecht University

Submitted to: Microbiome
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/13/2024
Publication Date: 10/14/2024
Citation: Cao, Y., Shen, Z., Zhang, N., Deng, X., Thomashow, L.S., Lidbury, I., Liu, H., Li, R., Shen, Q., Kowalchuk, G.A. 2024. Phosphorus availability influences disease-suppressive soil microbiome through plant-microbe interactions. Microbiome. 12. Article 185. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40168-024-01906-w.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40168-024-01906-w

Interpretive Summary: The nutrient composition of the soil affects the interaction of beneficial and pathogenic microorganisms with plants. In this six-year study carried out in the field, the availability of the mineral nutrient phosphorus in the soil strongly influenced the interaction of the bacterial wilt pathogen Ralstonia with tomato. When the experiments were continued in the greenhouse, the effect was traced specifically to the influence of the microbes that were associated with the plant roots, but not to those in the surrounding soil. The amount of phosphorus available to the plant influenced the production by the plant of compounds that promoted various kinds of beneficial microorganisms, including those that helped to acquire phosphorus when it was not present in sufficient amounts. The results are important because they show how beneficial plant microbe interactions on roots are influenced by the availability of phosphorus in the soil.

Technical Abstract: Soil nutrient characteristics affect soil-borne disease suppression and associated plant-microbe interactions, yet remains to be fully explored. Our six-year field trial demonstrates that improved phosphorus availability is a key factor in controlling bacterial wilt disease caused by Ralstonia solanacearum. Subsequently, our greenhouse experiments target phosphorus to unravel mechanistic insights. We show that alleviating phosphorus stress enhances the disease-suppressing capacity of the rhizosphere microbiome, which is not observed in the bulk soil. This is an extension of the plant trade-off of sacrificing defense function for phosphorus acquisition under phosphorus limitation. Phosphorus adequacy stimulates the secretion of root metabolites, notably L-tryptophan and O-phosphorylethanolamine, promoting biocontrol microorganisms such as Chryseobacterium in the rhizosphere. In addition, phosphorus deficiency prompts an alternate defense strategy, via root metabolites like blumenol A or quercetin to form symbiosis with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, which also facilitates phosphorus availability. Our results illustrate how phosphorus availability can influence the disease suppression capability of the soil microbiome through plant-microbial interactions.