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Plant flavones enrich rhizosphere Oxalobacteraceae to improve maize performance under nitrogen deprivation.

Peng YuXiaoming HeMarcel BaerStien BeirinckxTian TianYudelsy A T MoyaXuechen ZhangMarion DeichmannFelix P FreyVerena BresgenChunjian LiBahar S RazaviGabriel SchaafNicolaus von WirénZhen SuMarcel BucherKenichi TsudaSofie GoormachtigXinping ChenFrank Hochholdinger
Published in: Nature plants (2021)
Beneficial interactions between plant roots and rhizosphere microorganisms are pivotal for plant fitness. Nevertheless, the molecular mechanisms controlling the feedback between root architecture and microbial community structure remain elusive in maize. Here, we demonstrate that transcriptomic gradients along the longitudinal root axis associate with specific shifts in rhizosphere microbial diversity. Moreover, we have established that root-derived flavones predominantly promote the enrichment of bacteria of the taxa Oxalobacteraceae in the rhizosphere, which in turn promote maize growth and nitrogen acquisition. Genetic experiments demonstrate that LRT1-mediated lateral root development coordinates the interactions of the root system with flavone-dependent Oxalobacteraceae under nitrogen deprivation. In summary, these experiments reveal the genetic basis of the reciprocal interactions between root architecture and the composition and diversity of specific microbial taxa in the rhizosphere resulting in improved plant performance. These findings may open new avenues towards the breeding of high-yielding and nutrient-efficient crops by exploiting their interaction with beneficial soil microorganisms.
Keyphrases
  • microbial community
  • plant growth
  • genome wide
  • minimally invasive
  • single cell
  • dna methylation
  • copy number
  • sensitive detection