Microbial Basis for Suppression of Soil-Borne Disease in Crop Rotation

The effect of crop rotation on soil-borne diseases is a representative case of plant-soil feedback in the sense that plant disease resistance is influenced by soils with different cultivation histories. This study examined the microbial mechanisms inducing the differences in the clubroot (caused by Plasmodiophora brassicae pathogen) damage of Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa subsp. pekinensis) after the cultivation of different preceding crops. It addresses two key questions in crop rotation: changes in the soil bacterial community induced by the cultivation of different plants and the microbial mechanisms responsible for the disease-suppressive capacity of Chinese cabbage. Twenty preceding crops from different plant families showed significant differences in the disease damage, pathogen density, and bacterial community composition of the host plant. Structural equation modelling revealed that the relative abundance of four key bacterial orders in Chinese cabbage roots can explain 85% and 70% of the total variation in pathogen density and disease damage, respectively. Notably, the relative dominance of Bacillales and Rhizobiales, which have a trade-off relationship, exhibited predominant effects on pathogen density and disease damage. The disease-suppressive soil legacy effects of preceding crops are reflected in compositional changes in key bacterial orders, which are intensified by the bacterial community network.