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Habitats shape root-associated fungal and bacterial communities of Minjiang fir saplings

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Abstract

Root-associated microbes play an essentialrole in mediating plant growth, health, and habitat adaptability. However, it is unknown which microbial taxa help develop host fitness and how habitats shape root-associated microbial assembly patterns. As an endemic species of subalpine forests in western Sichuan, China, Minjiang fir (Abies fargesii var. faxoniana) is dominant on cold-shaded northwestern slopes while absent on warm sunlit southwestern slopes. In this study, fungal and bacterial communities were investigated in three spatial compartments (endosphere, rhizosphere, and bulk soil) associated with Minjiang fir saplings on a cold-shaded northwestern slope and a warm sunlit southwestern slope. Habitats differentiated the microbial communities regardless of the spatial compartment and microbial taxa. Slope aspect variations caused shifts in root-associated (rhizosphere and endosphere) microbial compositions. Compared with the southwestern slope, the cold-shaded northwestern slope harbored a higher abundance of the growth-promoting bacteria Burkholderia and ectomycorrhizal fungi Cortinarius and Piloderma. The slope aspect had stronger effects on fungal diversity than bacterial diversity, with higher fungal endemism and lower bacterial endemism. Slope aspect variations were the dominant drivers of root-associated microbial communities, with lower contribution by soil properties and higher contribution by plant traits on the northwestern slope. Findings from this study could improve the understanding of plant habitat adaptability from the perspective of microbial community assembly. It is suggested that forest management should consider root-associated microbiomes for enhancing species fitness and habitat adaptability.

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Data availability

The raw fastq data can be obtained at the ENA (European Nucleotide Archive) under NO. PRJEB33853 and PRJEB33850.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. International Centre for Bamboo and Rattan, Key Laboratory of National Forestry and Grassland Administration/Beijing for Bamboo & Rattan Science and Technology, Institute of Resources and Environment, Beijing, 100102, People’s Republic of China

    Maoping Li

  2. Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Environment of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Ecology and Nature Conservation Institute, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, 100091, People’s Republic of China

    Maoping Li & Shirong Liu

  3. Key Laboratory of Bio-Resource and Eco-Environment of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610065, People’s Republic of China

    Ning Miao

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Contributions

SL and ML designed this study; ML carried out sampling, performed the experimental work and data processing, and wrote the initial manuscript. SL provided research funding and technical guidance. SL, ML, and NM contributed to the revision of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Shirong Liu.

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Project funding: This work was jointly funded by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (No. 2021YFD2200405) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31930078).

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Corresponding editor: Yanbo Hu.

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Li, M., Miao, N. & Liu, S. Habitats shape root-associated fungal and bacterial communities of Minjiang fir saplings. J. For. Res. 34, 1491–1502 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-023-01609-2

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