Microbe-Friendly Plants Enable Beneficial Interactions with Soil Rhizosphere Bacteria by Lowering Their Defense Responses

The use of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria presents a promising addition to conventional mineral fertilizer use and an alternative strategy for sustainable agricultural crop production. However, genotypic variations in the plant host may result in variability of the beneficial effects from thes...

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Main Authors: Alexander Arkhipov, Ziyu Shao, Sean R. Muirhead, Muchineripi S. Harry, Maria Batool, Hooman Mirzaee, Lilia C. Carvalhais, Peer M. Schenk
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-10-01
Series:Plants
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/13/21/3065
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author Alexander Arkhipov
Ziyu Shao
Sean R. Muirhead
Muchineripi S. Harry
Maria Batool
Hooman Mirzaee
Lilia C. Carvalhais
Peer M. Schenk
author_facet Alexander Arkhipov
Ziyu Shao
Sean R. Muirhead
Muchineripi S. Harry
Maria Batool
Hooman Mirzaee
Lilia C. Carvalhais
Peer M. Schenk
author_sort Alexander Arkhipov
collection DOAJ
description The use of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria presents a promising addition to conventional mineral fertilizer use and an alternative strategy for sustainable agricultural crop production. However, genotypic variations in the plant host may result in variability of the beneficial effects from these plant–microbe interactions. This study examined growth promotion effects of commercial vegetable crop cultivars of tomato, cucumber and broccoli following application with five rhizosphere bacteria. Biochemical assays revealed that the bacterial strains used possess several nutrient acquisition traits that benefit plants, including nitrogen fixation, phosphate solubilization, biofilm formation, and indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) production. However, different host cultivars displayed genotype-specific responses from the inoculations, resulting in significant (<i>p</i> < 0.05) plant growth promotion in some cultivars but insignificant (<i>p</i> > 0.05) or no growth promotion in others. Gene expression profiling in tomato cultivars revealed that these cultivar-specific phenotypes are reflected in differential expressions of defense and nutrient acquisition genes, suggesting that plants can be categorized into “microbe-friendly” cultivars (with little or no defense responses against beneficial microbes) and “microbe-hostile” cultivars (with strong defense responses). These results validate the notion that “microbe-friendly” (positive interaction with rhizosphere microbes) should be considered an important trait in breeding programs when developing new cultivars which could result in improved crop yields.
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spelling doaj-art-ef53f79eaf4244ae86c3d392b8826c442025-08-20T02:14:23ZengMDPI AGPlants2223-77472024-10-011321306510.3390/plants13213065Microbe-Friendly Plants Enable Beneficial Interactions with Soil Rhizosphere Bacteria by Lowering Their Defense ResponsesAlexander Arkhipov0Ziyu Shao1Sean R. Muirhead2Muchineripi S. Harry3Maria Batool4Hooman Mirzaee5Lilia C. Carvalhais6Peer M. Schenk7Plant-Microbe Interactions Laboratory, School of Agriculture and Food Sustainability, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, AustraliaPlant-Microbe Interactions Laboratory, School of Agriculture and Food Sustainability, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, AustraliaPlant-Microbe Interactions Laboratory, School of Agriculture and Food Sustainability, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, AustraliaPlant-Microbe Interactions Laboratory, School of Agriculture and Food Sustainability, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, AustraliaPlant-Microbe Interactions Laboratory, School of Agriculture and Food Sustainability, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, AustraliaPlant-Microbe Interactions Laboratory, School of Agriculture and Food Sustainability, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, AustraliaCenter for Horticultural Science, Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation, The University of Queensland, Ecosciences Precinct, Brisbane, QLD 4072, AustraliaPlant-Microbe Interactions Laboratory, School of Agriculture and Food Sustainability, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, AustraliaThe use of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria presents a promising addition to conventional mineral fertilizer use and an alternative strategy for sustainable agricultural crop production. However, genotypic variations in the plant host may result in variability of the beneficial effects from these plant–microbe interactions. This study examined growth promotion effects of commercial vegetable crop cultivars of tomato, cucumber and broccoli following application with five rhizosphere bacteria. Biochemical assays revealed that the bacterial strains used possess several nutrient acquisition traits that benefit plants, including nitrogen fixation, phosphate solubilization, biofilm formation, and indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) production. However, different host cultivars displayed genotype-specific responses from the inoculations, resulting in significant (<i>p</i> < 0.05) plant growth promotion in some cultivars but insignificant (<i>p</i> > 0.05) or no growth promotion in others. Gene expression profiling in tomato cultivars revealed that these cultivar-specific phenotypes are reflected in differential expressions of defense and nutrient acquisition genes, suggesting that plants can be categorized into “microbe-friendly” cultivars (with little or no defense responses against beneficial microbes) and “microbe-hostile” cultivars (with strong defense responses). These results validate the notion that “microbe-friendly” (positive interaction with rhizosphere microbes) should be considered an important trait in breeding programs when developing new cultivars which could result in improved crop yields.https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/13/21/3065beneficial microbebiostimulantmicrobial biofertilizerPGPRplant breedingplant defense
spellingShingle Alexander Arkhipov
Ziyu Shao
Sean R. Muirhead
Muchineripi S. Harry
Maria Batool
Hooman Mirzaee
Lilia C. Carvalhais
Peer M. Schenk
Microbe-Friendly Plants Enable Beneficial Interactions with Soil Rhizosphere Bacteria by Lowering Their Defense Responses
Plants
beneficial microbe
biostimulant
microbial biofertilizer
PGPR
plant breeding
plant defense
title Microbe-Friendly Plants Enable Beneficial Interactions with Soil Rhizosphere Bacteria by Lowering Their Defense Responses
title_full Microbe-Friendly Plants Enable Beneficial Interactions with Soil Rhizosphere Bacteria by Lowering Their Defense Responses
title_fullStr Microbe-Friendly Plants Enable Beneficial Interactions with Soil Rhizosphere Bacteria by Lowering Their Defense Responses
title_full_unstemmed Microbe-Friendly Plants Enable Beneficial Interactions with Soil Rhizosphere Bacteria by Lowering Their Defense Responses
title_short Microbe-Friendly Plants Enable Beneficial Interactions with Soil Rhizosphere Bacteria by Lowering Their Defense Responses
title_sort microbe friendly plants enable beneficial interactions with soil rhizosphere bacteria by lowering their defense responses
topic beneficial microbe
biostimulant
microbial biofertilizer
PGPR
plant breeding
plant defense
url https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/13/21/3065
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