Tea Cultivar Genotype Shapes Rhizosphere Microbiome Assembly Through Metabolic Differentiation

Area of Science:

• Plant Science
• Microbiology
• Soil Science

Background:

• Tea cultivar genotype is a key factor in rhizosphere microbiome assembly.
• The specific mechanisms driving these cultivar-specific microbial shifts are not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how tea (Camellia sinensis) cultivar genotype influences rhizosphere microbial communities and their assembly.
• To explore the role of rhizosphere metabolites in mediating these cultivar-microbiome interactions.

Main Methods:

• Controlled pot experiment using five Chinese tea cultivars.
• Analysis of rhizosphere soil bacterial and fungal communities via 16S rRNA and ITS2 amplicon sequencing.
• Characterization of rhizosphere metabolomes using untargeted metabolomics.

Main Results:

• Significant differences in rhizosphere metabolite profiles (organic acids, fatty acids, carbohydrates) were found among tea cultivars.
• Rhizosphere metabolites explained a substantial portion of bacterial (19.87%) and fungal (21.63%) community variation, second only to soil physicochemical properties.
• Microbial assembly was predominantly deterministic, with strong correlations between metabolite profiles and microbial community structure.

Conclusions:

• Tea cultivar genotype shapes rhizosphere microbiome assembly through metabolic differentiation.
• Findings support integrating microbiome insights into tea breeding and developing cultivar-specific management strategies.