Drought-driven shifts in Eucommia ulmoides rhizosphere mycobiota and metabolites mediate host tolerance

ABSTRACT Drought poses considerable challenges to the sustainable development of crops, highlighting the urgent need to improve plant resistance to drought stress. Rhizosphere mycobiota roles in Eucommia ulmoides drought adaptation remain uncharacterized. This study examines E. ulmoides’ rhizosphere...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Chenglong Li, Shuangshuang Hou, Jinling Li, Xueqian Zhang, Qingsong Ran, Yanfeng Han, Zhijie Wang, Chunbo Dong
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: American Society for Microbiology 2025-08-01
Series:Microbiology Spectrum
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/spectrum.00847-25
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849395904313819136
author Chenglong Li
Shuangshuang Hou
Jinling Li
Xueqian Zhang
Qingsong Ran
Yanfeng Han
Zhijie Wang
Chunbo Dong
author_facet Chenglong Li
Shuangshuang Hou
Jinling Li
Xueqian Zhang
Qingsong Ran
Yanfeng Han
Zhijie Wang
Chunbo Dong
author_sort Chenglong Li
collection DOAJ
description ABSTRACT Drought poses considerable challenges to the sustainable development of crops, highlighting the urgent need to improve plant resistance to drought stress. Rhizosphere mycobiota roles in Eucommia ulmoides drought adaptation remain uncharacterized. This study examines E. ulmoides’ rhizosphere mycobiota diversity, its changes, and interactions with plant physiology and metabolites under drought stress using amplicon sequencing, plant physiological assessments, and non-targeted root metabolomics. Our data indicate that drought stress considerably altered the species richness and community composition of the E. ulmoides seedling rhizosphere mycobiota, affecting the co-occurrence patterns and the composition of core fungal taxa within the mycobiota. Additionally, Sordariomycetes were notably enriched in the rhizosphere of E. ulmoides under drought stress and showed a notable positive correlation with the physiological indicator soluble sugar (SS). During drought stress mid-stages, rhizosphere core fungal taxa of E. ulmoides exhibit higher diversity, increased network connectivity, and a tighter network structure. Correlation analyses show that core fungal taxa are significantly linked to malondialdehyde (MDA) content. The root metabolome’s phosphatidylcholines (o-16:0/22:6(4Z,7Z,10Z,13Z,16Z,19Z)) and 8-demethyltetracenomycin C are also notably affected by the core microbial taxa. In summary, drought stress drives changes in the E. ulmoides rhizosphere mycobiota, plant physiology, and root metabolites, with MDA, SS, and 8-demethyltetracenomycin C possibly mediating the selection of specific rhizosphere fungal communities. Taken together, these data provide notable insights into plant-microbe interactions under drought stress and have important implications for improving the drought adaptability of E. ulmoides.IMPORTANCEDrought presents substantial challenges to the sustainability of crops, highlighting the need to enhance their resistance to arid conditions. Although the rhizosphere microbiome plays a crucial role in bolstering crop resilience, the dynamics and mechanisms of Eucommia ulmoides‘ rhizosphere mycobiota under drought conditions remain poorly understood. This study provides valuable insights into the interactions between plants and microbes under drought stress and has significant implications for improving the drought adaptability of E. ulmoides.
format Article
id doaj-art-fa250b2ba8f247f7bd85be80902bf47d
institution Kabale University
issn 2165-0497
language English
publishDate 2025-08-01
publisher American Society for Microbiology
record_format Article
series Microbiology Spectrum
spelling doaj-art-fa250b2ba8f247f7bd85be80902bf47d2025-08-20T03:39:28ZengAmerican Society for MicrobiologyMicrobiology Spectrum2165-04972025-08-0113810.1128/spectrum.00847-25Drought-driven shifts in Eucommia ulmoides rhizosphere mycobiota and metabolites mediate host toleranceChenglong Li0Shuangshuang Hou1Jinling Li2Xueqian Zhang3Qingsong Ran4Yanfeng Han5Zhijie Wang6Chunbo Dong7Department of Ecology/Key laboratory of Plant Resource Conservation and Germplasm Innovation in Mountainous Region (Ministry of Education), College of Life Sciences, Institute of Fungus Resources, Guizhou University, Guiyang, Guizhou, ChinaDepartment of Ecology/Key laboratory of Plant Resource Conservation and Germplasm Innovation in Mountainous Region (Ministry of Education), College of Life Sciences, Institute of Fungus Resources, Guizhou University, Guiyang, Guizhou, ChinaDepartment of Ecology/Key laboratory of Plant Resource Conservation and Germplasm Innovation in Mountainous Region (Ministry of Education), College of Life Sciences, Institute of Fungus Resources, Guizhou University, Guiyang, Guizhou, ChinaDepartment of Ecology/Key laboratory of Plant Resource Conservation and Germplasm Innovation in Mountainous Region (Ministry of Education), College of Life Sciences, Institute of Fungus Resources, Guizhou University, Guiyang, Guizhou, ChinaDepartment of Ecology/Key laboratory of Plant Resource Conservation and Germplasm Innovation in Mountainous Region (Ministry of Education), College of Life Sciences, Institute of Fungus Resources, Guizhou University, Guiyang, Guizhou, ChinaDepartment of Ecology/Key laboratory of Plant Resource Conservation and Germplasm Innovation in Mountainous Region (Ministry of Education), College of Life Sciences, Institute of Fungus Resources, Guizhou University, Guiyang, Guizhou, ChinaDepartment of Ecology/Key laboratory of Plant Resource Conservation and Germplasm Innovation in Mountainous Region (Ministry of Education), College of Life Sciences, Institute of Fungus Resources, Guizhou University, Guiyang, Guizhou, ChinaDepartment of Ecology/Key laboratory of Plant Resource Conservation and Germplasm Innovation in Mountainous Region (Ministry of Education), College of Life Sciences, Institute of Fungus Resources, Guizhou University, Guiyang, Guizhou, ChinaABSTRACT Drought poses considerable challenges to the sustainable development of crops, highlighting the urgent need to improve plant resistance to drought stress. Rhizosphere mycobiota roles in Eucommia ulmoides drought adaptation remain uncharacterized. This study examines E. ulmoides’ rhizosphere mycobiota diversity, its changes, and interactions with plant physiology and metabolites under drought stress using amplicon sequencing, plant physiological assessments, and non-targeted root metabolomics. Our data indicate that drought stress considerably altered the species richness and community composition of the E. ulmoides seedling rhizosphere mycobiota, affecting the co-occurrence patterns and the composition of core fungal taxa within the mycobiota. Additionally, Sordariomycetes were notably enriched in the rhizosphere of E. ulmoides under drought stress and showed a notable positive correlation with the physiological indicator soluble sugar (SS). During drought stress mid-stages, rhizosphere core fungal taxa of E. ulmoides exhibit higher diversity, increased network connectivity, and a tighter network structure. Correlation analyses show that core fungal taxa are significantly linked to malondialdehyde (MDA) content. The root metabolome’s phosphatidylcholines (o-16:0/22:6(4Z,7Z,10Z,13Z,16Z,19Z)) and 8-demethyltetracenomycin C are also notably affected by the core microbial taxa. In summary, drought stress drives changes in the E. ulmoides rhizosphere mycobiota, plant physiology, and root metabolites, with MDA, SS, and 8-demethyltetracenomycin C possibly mediating the selection of specific rhizosphere fungal communities. Taken together, these data provide notable insights into plant-microbe interactions under drought stress and have important implications for improving the drought adaptability of E. ulmoides.IMPORTANCEDrought presents substantial challenges to the sustainability of crops, highlighting the need to enhance their resistance to arid conditions. Although the rhizosphere microbiome plays a crucial role in bolstering crop resilience, the dynamics and mechanisms of Eucommia ulmoides‘ rhizosphere mycobiota under drought conditions remain poorly understood. This study provides valuable insights into the interactions between plants and microbes under drought stress and has significant implications for improving the drought adaptability of E. ulmoides.https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/spectrum.00847-25medicinal plantsfungal diversitycore microorganismsplant physiologyroot metabolites
spellingShingle Chenglong Li
Shuangshuang Hou
Jinling Li
Xueqian Zhang
Qingsong Ran
Yanfeng Han
Zhijie Wang
Chunbo Dong
Drought-driven shifts in Eucommia ulmoides rhizosphere mycobiota and metabolites mediate host tolerance
Microbiology Spectrum
medicinal plants
fungal diversity
core microorganisms
plant physiology
root metabolites
title Drought-driven shifts in Eucommia ulmoides rhizosphere mycobiota and metabolites mediate host tolerance
title_full Drought-driven shifts in Eucommia ulmoides rhizosphere mycobiota and metabolites mediate host tolerance
title_fullStr Drought-driven shifts in Eucommia ulmoides rhizosphere mycobiota and metabolites mediate host tolerance
title_full_unstemmed Drought-driven shifts in Eucommia ulmoides rhizosphere mycobiota and metabolites mediate host tolerance
title_short Drought-driven shifts in Eucommia ulmoides rhizosphere mycobiota and metabolites mediate host tolerance
title_sort drought driven shifts in eucommia ulmoides rhizosphere mycobiota and metabolites mediate host tolerance
topic medicinal plants
fungal diversity
core microorganisms
plant physiology
root metabolites
url https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/spectrum.00847-25
work_keys_str_mv AT chenglongli droughtdrivenshiftsineucommiaulmoidesrhizospheremycobiotaandmetabolitesmediatehosttolerance
AT shuangshuanghou droughtdrivenshiftsineucommiaulmoidesrhizospheremycobiotaandmetabolitesmediatehosttolerance
AT jinlingli droughtdrivenshiftsineucommiaulmoidesrhizospheremycobiotaandmetabolitesmediatehosttolerance
AT xueqianzhang droughtdrivenshiftsineucommiaulmoidesrhizospheremycobiotaandmetabolitesmediatehosttolerance
AT qingsongran droughtdrivenshiftsineucommiaulmoidesrhizospheremycobiotaandmetabolitesmediatehosttolerance
AT yanfenghan droughtdrivenshiftsineucommiaulmoidesrhizospheremycobiotaandmetabolitesmediatehosttolerance
AT zhijiewang droughtdrivenshiftsineucommiaulmoidesrhizospheremycobiotaandmetabolitesmediatehosttolerance
AT chunbodong droughtdrivenshiftsineucommiaulmoidesrhizospheremycobiotaandmetabolitesmediatehosttolerance