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Plant–Soil–Microorganism Interaction in Grassland Agroecosystem

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A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Ecosystem, Environment and Climate Change in Agriculture".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 August 2022) | Viewed by 25029

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Xingxu Zhang

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State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, Key Laboratory of Grassland Livestock Industry Innovation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
Interests: grass and endophyte; soil microbiology; plant protection

Prof. Dr. Tingyu Duan

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Guest Editor

State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730020, China
Interests: grass and forage pathology; arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi; plant-microbial interaction; biological control
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Prof. Dr. Xiangling Fang

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Guest Editor

State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730020, China
Interests: forage pathology; alfalfa; root disease; fungal pathogen; grass microbiology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Plant–soil–microorganism interactions span a vast continuum, from beneficial to detrimental, and play a major role in natural and agricultural ecosystems. Beneficial or mutualistic plant-colonising microbiology are widely distributed and provide benefits to the plant by supplying nutrients, increasing plant stress tolerance or disease resistance. This is the case with mycorrhizal fungi, a group of diverse fungal taxa that associate with the roots of about 90% of all plant species and provide plants with mineral nutrients in exchange for fixed carbon. By contrast, plant pathogenic fungi are a major threat to plant production and food security for livestock in the grassland agroecosystem. It is well known that plant-associated fungi and bacteria are involved in up-regulating stress-related genes, producing a variety of different phytohormones and activating the antioxidant defence system, which support plant growth and persistence in stressful environments. Unfortunately, the physiological and molecular mechanisms underlying plant–microbiology interactions under stressful environmental conditions have been barely studied. This Special Issue is aimed at compiling research, review, and opinion articles covering new scientific discoveries covering new insights into the physiology, biochemistry, molecular biology, genetics, and ecology of the microorganism partner, the molecular mechanisms involved in plant–microbiology interactions, the effects of the interaction on plant fitness under different environmental conditions, and biotechnological applications.

Prof. Dr. Xingxu Zhang
Prof. Dr. Tingyu Duan
Prof. Dr. Xiangling Fang
Guest Editors

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Keywords

Grassland Agroecosystems
beneficial
pathogenic fungi
stressful
physiology
biochemistry
molecular biology
genetics
molecular mechanisms
endophyte

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Published Papers (12 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 6091 KiB

Open AccessArticle

ROS Regulate NCF2, Key Metabolic Enzymes and MDA Levels to Affect the Growth of Fusarium solani

by Jie Li, Lidan Feng, Dong Li, Xianglin Liu, Yangyang Pan, Jing He and Junxia Zhang

Agriculture 2022, 12(11), 1840; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12111840 - 2 Nov 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1775

Abstract

Fusarium solani is the most significant pathogen that causes root rot in wolfberry, which has led to serious economic losses in terms of production. As an important enzyme in organisms, NADPH oxidase produces ROS. However, the mechanism of ROS mediated by NADPH oxidase in the growth of F. solani has not been studied. In this study, F. solani colonies were treated with 40 µmol/L DPI and 0.0012% H₂O₂. The growth rate in terms of colonies, number of spores, key gene expression levels, activity of key enzymes and the content of key products of ROS metabolic pathways were determined. The results showed that the growth rate of colonies treated by DPI decreased by 19.43%, the number of macroconidia increased by 231.03%, the IOD/area values of O₂⁻ and H₂O₂ decreased by 34.88% and 16.97%, respectively, the expression levels in terms of NCF2, SOD1, CTA1 and PXMP4 significantly decreased and the activities of SOD, CAT and POD decreased significantly, while the MDA content increased significantly. Additionally, in the case of the colonies treated with exogenous H₂O₂, the MDA content decreased significantly while the other indicators increased. Taken together, the NCF2 gene is involved in regulating the activity of NADPH oxidase and regulates the products of O₂⁻ and ROS metabolism enzyme genes and their activities to affect colony growth in the F. solani growth process. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant–Soil–Microorganism Interaction in Grassland Agroecosystem)

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10 pages, 1480 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Allelopathic Effects of Foliar Epichloë Endophytes on Belowground Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi: A Meta-Analysis

by Rui Zhong, Lin Zhang and Xingxu Zhang

Agriculture 2022, 12(11), 1768; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12111768 - 25 Oct 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1935

Abstract

Many grasses are simultaneously symbiotic with Epichloë fungal endophytes and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). Epichloë endophytes are a group of filamentous fungi that colonize and grow within aerial plant tissues, such as leaves and stems. Infection and hyphal growth of Epichloë endophytes confer fitness advantages to the host plants. In addition to producing fungal alkaloids and altering host metabolic/genetic profiles, it is proven that symbiosis of plants with root/foliar endophytes affects the plant–soil relationship. We propose that the Epichloë presence/infection results in variations of soil and root AMF through allelopathic effects. We performed a meta-analysis that integrated the allelopathic effects of Epichloë endophytes on grass–AMF development. In the pre-symbiotic phase of grass–AMF symbiosis, root exudation from Epichloë-infected plants positively affected AMF growth, whereas the shoot exudates of Epichloë-infected plants inhibited AMF growth. In the symbiotic phase of grass–AMF symbiosis, the Epichloë infection was found to reduce root mycorrhizal colonization in plants. No pattern in the response of soil AMF to Epichloë presence was found. This study should improve our understanding of the impact of Epichloë endophytes on belowground microbial symbionts within the same host plant. Grass–Epichloë–AMF symbiosis may become an important model for studying above–belowground interactions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant–Soil–Microorganism Interaction in Grassland Agroecosystem)

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14 pages, 1439 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Physicochemical Properties and Antibiosis Activity of the Pink Pigment of Erwinia persicina Cp2

by Yujuan Zhang, Xiaoni Liu, Xiangyang Li, Liang Zhao, Hong Zhang, Qianying Jia, Bo Yao and Zhenfen Zhang

Agriculture 2022, 12(10), 1641; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12101641 - 8 Oct 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2201

Abstract

The control and management of fungal diseases is a worldwide problem. A variety of microbial pigments have excellent antibacterial effects, and naturally occurring bacterial pigments may help in tackling fungal diseases. In order to explore the basic properties and biological functions of the pink pigment produced by Erwinia persicina Cp2, we used organic solvents to extract the pink pigment, analyzed the physicochemical properties of the pigment, determined the chemical composition using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS), and selected five pathogenic fungi to study the inhibitory effects of the pink pigment. The results showed that the main component of the pink pigment was usambarensine, which had a good light stability and a good temperature stability at room temperature (<40 °C), but the influence of the oxidant on its activity was greater than that of the reductant; simultaneously, we found that strong acids, strong alkalis, Cu²⁺, and Zn²⁺ all greatly affect the stability of the pink pigment, while Fe²⁺ and Fe³⁺ made the pigment darker. Meanwhile, the pigment could exert a good inhibitory effect against four plant pathogenic fungi: Alternaria solani, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, Rhizoctonia solani, and Fusarium proliferatum. However, the inhibition of Fusarium oxysporum. f. sp cucumerinum decreased significantly in the later stages. This study had detected the purification process and antifungal activity on five fungi of the pink pigment of Erwinia persicina Cp2. It lays a theoretical and practical foundation for the production of related biological agents. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant–Soil–Microorganism Interaction in Grassland Agroecosystem)

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10 pages, 244 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Growth, Sporulation, Conidial Germination and Lethal Temperature of Paraphoma radicina, A Fungal Pathogen of Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) Root Rot

by Shi Cao and Yan-Zhong Li

Agriculture 2022, 12(9), 1501; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12091501 - 19 Sep 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1976

Abstract

In 2020, alfalfa root rot, a disease caused by Paraphoma radicina, was identified in Inner Mongolia, China, where it seriously affected alfalfa crop yields. Conditions for in vitro growth, sporulation and conidial germination of P. radicina are poorly understood, limiting further studies. In this contribution, we evaluated the suitability of different media, carbon and nitrogen sources, as well as temperature and pH for P. radicina in vitro growth and germination. In addition, the temperature sensitivity of these cultures was assessed. Paraphoma radicina growth and sporulation were most vigorous on the ARDA medium, reaching the maximum growth and sporulation rates after 4 weeks of incubation. All carbon and nitrogen sources supported growth, but none induced sporulation. The best carbon and nitrogen sources for growth were mannitol and peptone, respectively. Conidial germination was observed in the 4 to 35 °C temperature range, with an optimum temperature of 25 °C. The germination rate was highest at pH 7, and more than 50% of conidia germinated after 38 h of incubation at 25 °C. On the other hand, temperatures above 55 °C (10 min) and 41 °C (10 min) proved lethal for the mycelial and conidial forms of the pathogen, respectively. These results can provide clues to the environmental conditions amenable for P. radicina infection of alfalfa crops and, on the whole, a better understanding of pathogenicity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant–Soil–Microorganism Interaction in Grassland Agroecosystem)

11 pages, 259 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Occurrence and Nutrition Indicators of Alfalfa withLeptosphaerulina in Chifeng, Inner Mongolia

by Lili Zhang and Yanzhong Li

Agriculture 2022, 12(9), 1465; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12091465 - 14 Sep 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1466

Abstract

Alfalfa Leptosphaerulina leaf spot is a common disease of alfalfa, while its effect on alfalfa quality has not been reported. The present study aimed to investigate the alfalfa Leptosphaerulina leaf spot in Chifeng City, Inner Mongolia, China and determine the quality of alfalfa plants and leaves with different scales. The incidence and disease index of nine alfalfa cultivars ranged from 12.1% to 59.8% and 10.0 to 51.0, respectively. The incidence of the Optimus cultivar and the disease index of the WL168 cultivar were significantly higher than those of the other cultivars. Therefore, different scales (0–4) of the alfalfa WL168 plant and leaves were used to determine their nutritional levels. Compared with healthy plants and leaves, the severity of alfalfa leaf spot on a scale of 4 decreased by 3.7% to 29.4% or 1.7% to 40.7%, respectively, in 18 nutrients; and increased by 12.0% to 14.5% or 17.8% to 26.9% in the Rumen protein (RUP), acid detergent fiber (ADF) and neutral detergent fiber (NDF), respectively. In addition, the crude protein (CP) content of alfalfa plants or leaves based on a severity scale of 4 decreased by 16.7% and 6.2%, respectively. Correlation analysis revealed a strong negative correlation between 18 nutritional contents and disease severity, except for NDF, ADF and RUP. Conclusively, alfalfa Leptosphaerulina leaf spot strongly influences the plant and the leaves’ nutrient content in the plant. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant–Soil–Microorganism Interaction in Grassland Agroecosystem)

23 pages, 5776 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Sodium Selenite Concentration and Culture Time on Extracellular and Intracellular Metabolite Profiles of Epichloë sp. Isolated from Festuca sinensis in Liquid Culture

by Lianyu Zhou, Huichun Xie, Xuelan Ma, Jiasheng Ju, Qiaoyu Luo and Feng Qiao

Agriculture 2022, 12(9), 1423; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12091423 - 9 Sep 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1654

Abstract

Selenium (Se) is not only an essential trace element critical for the proper functioning of an organism, but it is also an abiotic stressor that affects an organism’s growth and metabolite profile. In this study, Epichloë sp. from Festuca sinensis was exposed to increasing concentrations of Na₂SeO₃ (0, 0.1, and 0.2 mmol/L) in a liquid media for eight weeks. The mycelia and fermentation broth of Epichloë sp. were collected from four to eight weeks of cultivation. The mycelial biomass decreased in response to increased Se concentrations, and biomass accumulation peaked at week five. Using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), approximately 157 and 197 metabolites were determined in the fermentation broth and mycelia, respectively. Diverse changes in extracellular and intracellular metabolites were observed in Epichloë sp. throughout the cultivation period in Se conditions. Some metabolites accumulated in the fermentation broth, while others decreased after different times of Se exposure compared to the control media. However, some metabolites were present at lower concentrations in the mycelia when cultivated with Se. The changes in metabolites under Se conditions were dynamic over the experimental period and were involved in amino acids, carbohydrates, organic acids, fatty acids, and nucleotides. Based on these results, we conclude that selenite concentrations and culture time influence the growth, extracellular and intracellular metabolite profiles of Epichloë sp. from F. sinensis. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant–Soil–Microorganism Interaction in Grassland Agroecosystem)

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12 pages, 2299 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Modification of Cuticular Wax Composition and Biosynthesis by Epichloë gansuensis in Achnatherum inebrians at Different Growing Periods

by Zhenrui Zhao, Mei Tian, Peng Zeng, Michael J. Christensen, Mingzhu Kou, Zhibiao Nan and Xingxu Zhang

Agriculture 2022, 12(8), 1154; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12081154 - 4 Aug 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1801

Abstract

Cuticular wax plays a critical role as a plant protectant against various environmental stresses. We predicted that the presence of the mutualistic fungal endophyte Epichloë gansuensis in Achnatherum inebrians would change both the composition of leaf cuticular wax as plants aged during the growing season and the gene expression levels associated with the wax biosynthesis pathway. Endophyte-infected (EI) and endophyte-free (EF) A. inebrians plants were established for a four-month pot experiment. In agreement with our prediction, the presence of E. gansuensis can change the composition of leaf cuticular wax at different growing periods, particularly the proportion of esters, fatty acids and hydrocarbons. The proportion of fatty acids in EI plants was lower than that in EF plants. The proportion of hydrocarbons increased and esters decreased as plants grew. Furthermore, we found 11 DEGs coding for proteins involved in cuticular wax biosynthesis, including FabF, FAB2, ECR, FAR, CER1, ABCB1 and SEC61A. The present study highlights the significant contribution of E. gansuensis to leaf cuticular wax composition and biosynthesis in A. inebrians plants. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant–Soil–Microorganism Interaction in Grassland Agroecosystem)

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14 pages, 2126 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Switchgrass Establishment Can Ameliorate Soil Properties of the Abandoned Cropland in Northern China

by Chunqiao Zhao, Xincun Hou, Qiang Guo, Yuesen Yue, Juying Wu, Yawei Cao, Qinghai Wang, Cui Li, Zhengang Wang and Xifeng Fan

Agriculture 2022, 12(8), 1138; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12081138 - 1 Aug 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1685

Abstract

The bioenergy crop switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) has been recognized as friendly to the soil of cultivated land depending on the previous land use types and management practices. However, the effects of switchgrass establishment on soil properties at a broader depth when it is harvested annually without any fertilization in northern China largely remain unknown. To explore the impacts of unfertilized switchgrass on soil physical and chemical properties, 0–100 cm soil samples were collected from 7-year cropland-to-switchgrass conversion and the bare land (control). The results showed that switchgrass establishment increased soil total and capillary porosity, CFU numbers of the microbial communities (fungi, bacteria, and actinomycetes), contents of microbial biomass (carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus), and water-soluble organic carbon, and decreased soil bulk density, mostly at 0–60 cm depths, compared to the control values. Notably, the annual harvest of switchgrass insignificantly increased soil total and available nitrogen contents and slightly reduced available phosphorus and potassium contents. In conclusion, long-term cropland conversion to unfertilized switchgrass could ameliorate soil properties and does not cause soil depletion. The output of this study could inspire governments and farmers to make large-scale use of switchgrass in the ecological restoration of abandoned cropland in north China. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant–Soil–Microorganism Interaction in Grassland Agroecosystem)

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15 pages, 3781 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Rust on Plant Growth and Stoichiometry of Leymuschinensis under Different Grazing Intensities in Hulunber Grassland

by Yawen Zhang, Zhibiao Nan, Michael John Christensen, Xiaoping Xin and Nan Zhang

Agriculture 2022, 12(7), 961; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12070961 - 5 Jul 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2180

Abstract

Grazing is the main utilization of native grassland, and forage fungal disease is one of the limiting factors of grassland productivity. The present research in the Hulunber meadow steppe grassland was conducted to investigate the responses of the dominant plant Leymus chinensis (Trin.) to beef cattle grazing, rust, and their interaction influence. Six grazing intensity treatments with three replicates were established. The response of L. chinensis to grazing and rust was systematically studied for two consecutive years. The main findings were that grazing and rust had significant effects (p < 0.05) on the growth and nutrient elements content of L. chinensis. Compared with the 0 cattle ha⁻¹ treatment, the dry matter of L. chinensis in the 0.42, 0.63, and 1.67 cattle ha⁻¹ treatments decreased by 42.2%, 90.5%, and 339.5%, respectively. Compared with non-infected plants, dry matter of rust-infected L. chinensis plants decreased by 45.6%. The N:C and P:C ratios of rust-infected plants were lower than in non-infected plants, and positively correlated with their relative growth rates. Therefore, we concluded that the growth rate hypothesis still applied in L. chinensis under the interactive effects of grazing and disease. Additionally, grazing can alleviate the loss of dry matter caused by disease. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant–Soil–Microorganism Interaction in Grassland Agroecosystem)

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13 pages, 2354 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Physicochemical Variables Better Explain Changes in Microbial Community Structure and Abundance under Alternate Wetting and Drying Events

by Abbas Ali Abid, Xiang Zou, Longda Gong, Antonio Castellano-Hinojosa, Muhammad Afzal, Hongjie Di and Qichun Zhang

Agriculture 2022, 12(6), 762; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12060762 - 27 May 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2326

Abstract

Soil microbial communities play an important role in nutrient cycling; however, their response under repeated long-term fertilization has attracted little attention and needs further appraisal. A 14-day incubation study compared the relative abundance, diversity, and composition of bacterial and fungal microbial communities in soils treated with long-term applications of chemical fertilizer (CF), pig manure plus chemical fertilizer (PMCF), and rice straw plus chemical fertilizer (SRCF) in a paddy field. A high-throughput sequencing approach was applied to assess the diversity and composition of microbial community. Results revealed the Shannon index of the bacterial community decreased with fertilizer addition but increased in case of fungal community. The abundance of the Actinobacteria was higher in the PMCF, while Proteobacteria were higher in the CF and SRCF treatments than those in the unamended control under alternate wetting and drying (AWD) and permanent flooding (PF). In addition, chemical fertilizer history increased the abundance of Firmicutes under AWD. Initially, Nitrospira were found higher in the unamended control than in the amended treatments, but an increase was observed with time in fertilized treatments. Among all genera, Proteobacteria were the most abundant bacterial genus. The main properties that markedly affected the bacterial communities were SOC (R² = 0.4037, p < 0.02), available P (R² = 0.3273, p < 0.05), and NO₃⁻ (R² = 0.3096, p < 0.08). Soil physicochemical factors and biogenic factors explained a variation of 46.27% and 29.35%, respectively. At the same time, 4.59% was the combined effect of physicochemical and biogenic factors. Our results suggested that the physicochemical properties had a more significant impact on bacterial activities than water regime by increasing N and organic matter concentrations in the soils. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant–Soil–Microorganism Interaction in Grassland Agroecosystem)

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22 pages, 4080 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Epichloë Endophyte and Transgenerational Effects on Physiology of Achnatherum inebrians under Drought Stress

by Xuelian Cui, Xingxu Zhang, Lielie Shi, Michael John Christensen, Zhibiao Nan and Chao Xia

Agriculture 2022, 12(6), 761; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12060761 - 26 May 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2187

Abstract

The present study explored the effects of an Epichloë endophyte on growth and physiology parameters of drunken horse grass (DHG, Achnatherum inebrians) under four different soil water content. The possible transgenerational effects (TGE) on the above-mentioned indicators were examined. DHG plants with (EI) and without (EF) this Epichloë endophyte, grown from seed of plants from the same seed line, were used. The seeds had originated in the relatively dry site at Yuzhong [YZ(D)], and also used were seed of plants from this original seed-line grown at the relatively wet site Xiahe [XH(W)]. The growth, photosynthesis, phytohormones, and elements were measured. This study showed that the endophyte increased the aboveground biomass and chlorophyll content, with the increasing of photosynthetic parameters. The presence of endophyte also significantly promoted abscisic acid and indolE−3-acetic acid content but decreased the cytokinin content. The nitrogen and phosphorus content of EI plants was significantly higher than that of EF plants, but the endophyte decreased ratios of C:N and C:P at drought condition. In addition, TGE were present, affecting host growth and the above-mentioned parameters, and which indicated that the plants grown from the seeds in YZ(D) site are more competitive than those in the XH(W) site under water deficiency conditions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant–Soil–Microorganism Interaction in Grassland Agroecosystem)

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18 pages, 4182 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Changes in Soil Bacterial Community Structure in Bermudagrass Turf under Short-Term Traffic Stress

by Hongjian Wei, Yongqi Wang, Juming Zhang, Liangfa Ge and Tianzeng Liu

Agriculture 2022, 12(5), 668; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12050668 - 6 May 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2046

Abstract

Bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.) is an extensively utilized turf grass for football fields and golf courses. Traffic stress is one of the most important stresses affecting the life of turf, which leads to a decrease in turf quality and changes in the soil microbial community structure. The structural change in soil bacterial community is an important reference for turf growth, maintenance, and restoration. Tifgreen bermudagrass turf and Common bermudagrass turf were applied with traffic treatment by a traffic simulator with moderate intensity to explore soil bacterial community structural changes in turf under traffic stress. The environmental factors including turf quality indicators and soil properties were measured, and the association of the soil bacterial community diversity with the environment factors was analyzed. As a result, traffic treatments significantly changed the soil properties and bacterial community composition in two bermudagrass species at the phylum and genus level. Actinobacteria, Chloroflexi, and Verrucomicrobia showed significantly high abundance in turf soils under traffic stress. The soil bacterial ACE, Chaol, and Shannon indexes of two bermudagrass species under traffic stress were significantly lower than non-traffic stress. The bacterial community structure was highly correlated with some turf quality indicators and soil properties under traffic stress. Our results illustrate that compared to Common bermudagrass, Tifgreen bermudagrass had better turf quality under traffic stress and less changes in its bacterial community structure, perhaps Tifgreen bermudagrass is a better choice of grass for sports turf as opposed to Common bermudagrass. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant–Soil–Microorganism Interaction in Grassland Agroecosystem)

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