Silicate fertilization improves microbial functional potentials for stress tolerance in arsenic-enriched rice...

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Microbiology
• Agronomy

Background:

• Arsenic (As)-enriched soils pose abiotic stresses to host plants and their rhizosphere microbiomes.
• Silicon (Si) fertilization is known to alleviate As-induced plant stress.
• Plant-microbe interactions are crucial in soil ecosystems.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effect of Si fertilization on the functional potential of soil microbial communities to tolerate environmental stresses in As-enriched cropping systems.
• To test the hypothesis that Si fertilization improves microbial stress tolerance in rice grown on As-contaminated soils.

Main Methods:

• High-throughput metagenome sequencing.
• Microarray analysis.
• Analysis of plant impacts on soil microbiome and environment.
• Study conducted on Japonica and Indica rice varieties in As-enriched soils.

Main Results:

• Si fertilization altered rhizosphere bacterial communities in rice grown on As-enriched soils.
• Increased abundance of commensal microorganisms with enhanced genetic potential for stress tolerance (oxidative, osmotic, nutrient limitation, temperature extremes, radiation).
• Shift in stress-resistant microbial communities correlated with changes in rhizosphere nutrient flows and plant impacts.

Conclusions:

• Si fertilization improves microbial stress resilience in As-laden cropping systems, an unexplored benefit.
• This finding opens new avenues for studying Si-mediated plant-microbe signaling to alleviate As-induced stress in agro-ecosystems.