Cooperative Interplay Between PGPR and <i>Trichoderma longibrachiatum</i> Reprograms the Rhizosphere Microecology for Improved Saline Alkaline Stress Resilience in Rice Seedlings

Soil salinization has become a major obstacle to global agricultural sustainability. While microbial inoculants show promise for remediation, the functional coordination between <i>Trichoderma</i> and PGPR in saline alkali rhizospheres requires systematic investigation. Pot studies demon...

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Main Authors: Junjie Song, Xueting Guan, Lili Chen, Zhouqing Han, Haojun Cui, Shurong Ma
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-07-01
Series:Microorganisms
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/13/7/1562
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author Junjie Song
Xueting Guan
Lili Chen
Zhouqing Han
Haojun Cui
Shurong Ma
author_facet Junjie Song
Xueting Guan
Lili Chen
Zhouqing Han
Haojun Cui
Shurong Ma
author_sort Junjie Song
collection DOAJ
description Soil salinization has become a major obstacle to global agricultural sustainability. While microbial inoculants show promise for remediation, the functional coordination between <i>Trichoderma</i> and PGPR in saline alkali rhizospheres requires systematic investigation. Pot studies demonstrated that while individual inoculations of <i>Trichoderma longibrachiatum</i> (M) or <i>Bacillus aryabhattai</i> (A2) moderately improved rice growth and soil properties, their co-inoculation (A2 + M) synergistically enhanced stress tolerance and nutrient availability—increasing available nitrogen (AN +28.02%), phosphorus (AP +11.55%), and potassium (AK +8.26%) more than either strain alone, while more effectively mitigating salinity (EC −5.54%) and alkalinity (pH −0.13 units). High-throughput sequencing further revealed that the A2 + M treatment reshaped the rhizosphere microbiome, uniquely enriching beneficial taxa (e.g., Actinomycetota [+9.68%], Ascomycota [+50.58%], Chytridiomycota [+152.43%]), and plant-growth-promoting genera (e.g., <i>Sphingomonas</i>, <i>Trichoderma</i>), while drastically reducing saline-alkali-adapted Basidiomycota (−87.96%). Further analysis identified soil organic matter (SOM), AN, and AP as key drivers for the enrichment of Chytridiomycota and Actinomycetota, whereas pH and EC showed positive correlations with Mortierellomycota, Aphelidiomycota, unclassified_k__Fungi, and Basidiomycota. Collectively, the co-inoculation of <i>Trichoderma</i> and PGPR strains enhanced soil microbiome structure and mitigated saline alkali stress in rice seedlings. These findings demonstrate the potential of microbial consortia as an effective bio-strategy for saline alkali soil amelioration.
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spelling doaj-art-b712d86e46c348e18c7b7e00f042d7562025-08-20T03:35:28ZengMDPI AGMicroorganisms2076-26072025-07-01137156210.3390/microorganisms13071562Cooperative Interplay Between PGPR and <i>Trichoderma longibrachiatum</i> Reprograms the Rhizosphere Microecology for Improved Saline Alkaline Stress Resilience in Rice SeedlingsJunjie Song0Xueting Guan1Lili Chen2Zhouqing Han3Haojun Cui4Shurong Ma5Key Laboratory of Saline-Alkali Vegetation Ecology Restoration, Ministry of Education, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, ChinaKey Laboratory of Saline-Alkali Vegetation Ecology Restoration, Ministry of Education, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, ChinaKey Laboratory of Saline-Alkali Vegetation Ecology Restoration, Ministry of Education, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, ChinaKey Laboratory of Saline-Alkali Vegetation Ecology Restoration, Ministry of Education, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, ChinaKey Laboratory of Saline-Alkali Vegetation Ecology Restoration, Ministry of Education, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, ChinaKey Laboratory of Saline-Alkali Vegetation Ecology Restoration, Ministry of Education, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, ChinaSoil salinization has become a major obstacle to global agricultural sustainability. While microbial inoculants show promise for remediation, the functional coordination between <i>Trichoderma</i> and PGPR in saline alkali rhizospheres requires systematic investigation. Pot studies demonstrated that while individual inoculations of <i>Trichoderma longibrachiatum</i> (M) or <i>Bacillus aryabhattai</i> (A2) moderately improved rice growth and soil properties, their co-inoculation (A2 + M) synergistically enhanced stress tolerance and nutrient availability—increasing available nitrogen (AN +28.02%), phosphorus (AP +11.55%), and potassium (AK +8.26%) more than either strain alone, while more effectively mitigating salinity (EC −5.54%) and alkalinity (pH −0.13 units). High-throughput sequencing further revealed that the A2 + M treatment reshaped the rhizosphere microbiome, uniquely enriching beneficial taxa (e.g., Actinomycetota [+9.68%], Ascomycota [+50.58%], Chytridiomycota [+152.43%]), and plant-growth-promoting genera (e.g., <i>Sphingomonas</i>, <i>Trichoderma</i>), while drastically reducing saline-alkali-adapted Basidiomycota (−87.96%). Further analysis identified soil organic matter (SOM), AN, and AP as key drivers for the enrichment of Chytridiomycota and Actinomycetota, whereas pH and EC showed positive correlations with Mortierellomycota, Aphelidiomycota, unclassified_k__Fungi, and Basidiomycota. Collectively, the co-inoculation of <i>Trichoderma</i> and PGPR strains enhanced soil microbiome structure and mitigated saline alkali stress in rice seedlings. These findings demonstrate the potential of microbial consortia as an effective bio-strategy for saline alkali soil amelioration.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/13/7/1562saline alkali soil ameliorationPGPR<i>Trichoderma</i>-rhizobacteria synergyrice growth promotionsoil microecology
spellingShingle Junjie Song
Xueting Guan
Lili Chen
Zhouqing Han
Haojun Cui
Shurong Ma
Cooperative Interplay Between PGPR and <i>Trichoderma longibrachiatum</i> Reprograms the Rhizosphere Microecology for Improved Saline Alkaline Stress Resilience in Rice Seedlings
Microorganisms
saline alkali soil amelioration
PGPR
<i>Trichoderma</i>-rhizobacteria synergy
rice growth promotion
soil microecology
title Cooperative Interplay Between PGPR and <i>Trichoderma longibrachiatum</i> Reprograms the Rhizosphere Microecology for Improved Saline Alkaline Stress Resilience in Rice Seedlings
title_full Cooperative Interplay Between PGPR and <i>Trichoderma longibrachiatum</i> Reprograms the Rhizosphere Microecology for Improved Saline Alkaline Stress Resilience in Rice Seedlings
title_fullStr Cooperative Interplay Between PGPR and <i>Trichoderma longibrachiatum</i> Reprograms the Rhizosphere Microecology for Improved Saline Alkaline Stress Resilience in Rice Seedlings
title_full_unstemmed Cooperative Interplay Between PGPR and <i>Trichoderma longibrachiatum</i> Reprograms the Rhizosphere Microecology for Improved Saline Alkaline Stress Resilience in Rice Seedlings
title_short Cooperative Interplay Between PGPR and <i>Trichoderma longibrachiatum</i> Reprograms the Rhizosphere Microecology for Improved Saline Alkaline Stress Resilience in Rice Seedlings
title_sort cooperative interplay between pgpr and i trichoderma longibrachiatum i reprograms the rhizosphere microecology for improved saline alkaline stress resilience in rice seedlings
topic saline alkali soil amelioration
PGPR
<i>Trichoderma</i>-rhizobacteria synergy
rice growth promotion
soil microecology
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/13/7/1562
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