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Root zone microbial communities of Artemisia ordosica Krasch. at different successional stages in Mu US Sandy Land: a metagenomic perspective with culturomics insights

Summary

Researchers studied the bacteria and fungi living around the roots of a desert plant called Artemisia ordosica that helps prevent sand dunes from spreading in China. By analyzing DNA and growing microbes in the lab, they found different communities of microorganisms at different stages of sand dune recovery. Key beneficial microbes like Bacillus and Penicillium were identified, which may help the plant survive in harsh, nutrient-poor sandy soils.

Background

Land desertification is a global environmental challenge, and Artemisia ordosica Krasch. is widely used for desertification control in the Mu Us Sandy Land of China. Root-associated microbial communities may enhance plant adaptability to nutrient-poor sandy environments, but comprehensive investigations of these communities remain limited.

Objective

To analyze microbial communities in the root zone of A. ordosica across different successional stages (moving dunes, semi-fixed dunes, and fixed dunes) using high-throughput sequencing and culturomics approaches to understand plant-microbe interactions in sandy land ecosystems.

Results

Metagenomic analysis revealed higher microbial diversity in rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere soils compared to root endosphere, with moving dunes showing lower diversity. Environmental factors including NO3-N, OM, AK, and TK significantly influenced microbial composition. Culturomics identified 93 bacterial isolates dominated by Firmicutes (37.63%) and Bacillus (23.66%), plus 14 fungal strains with Penicillium (35.71%) and Aspergillus (21.43%) as dominant taxa.

Conclusion

The study provides integrated metagenomic and culturomics insights into A. ordosica root zone microbiota at different successional stages, identifying dominant beneficial genera like Arthrobacter and Paraphoma. High-throughput cultivation successfully recovered rare and slow-growing bacteria including Deinococcus-Thermus, expanding understanding of plant-microbe interactions critical for sandy land phytoremediation.
  • Published in:Frontiers in Microbiology,
  • Study Type:Observational Study,
  • Source: PMC12098380, PMID: 40415944
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