TY - JOUR

T1 - Tillage shapes the soil and rhizosphere microbiome of barley - but not its susceptibility towards Blumeria graminis f. sp. hordei

AU - Bziuk, Nina

AU - Maccario, Lorrie

AU - Douchkov, Dimitar

AU - Lueck, Stefanie

AU - Babin, Doreen

AU - Sørensen, Søren J.

AU - Schikora, Adam

AU - Smalla, Kornelia

N1 - © The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of FEMS.

PY - 2021

Y1 - 2021

N2 - Long-term agricultural practices are assumed to shape the rhizosphere microbiome of crops with implications for plant health. In a long-term field experiment, we investigated the effect of different tillage and fertilization practices on soil and barley rhizosphere microbial communities by means of amplicon sequencing of 16S rRNA gene fragments from total community DNA. Differences in the microbial community composition depending on the tillage practice, but not the fertilization intensity were revealed. To examine whether these soil and rhizosphere microbiome differences influence the plant defense response, barley (cultivar Golden Promise) was grown in field or standard potting soil under greenhouse conditions and challenged with Blumeria graminis f. sp. hordei (Bgh). Amplicon sequence analysis showed that preceding tillage practice, but also aboveground Bgh challenge significantly influenced the microbial community composition. Expression of plant defense-related genes PR1b and PR17b was higher in challenged compared to unchallenged plants. The Bgh infection rates were strikingly lower for barley grown in field soil compared to potting soil. Although previous agricultural management shaped the rhizosphere microbiome, no differences in plant health were observed. We propose therefore that the management-independent higher microbial diversity of field soils compared to potting soils contributed to the low infection rates of barley.

AB - Long-term agricultural practices are assumed to shape the rhizosphere microbiome of crops with implications for plant health. In a long-term field experiment, we investigated the effect of different tillage and fertilization practices on soil and barley rhizosphere microbial communities by means of amplicon sequencing of 16S rRNA gene fragments from total community DNA. Differences in the microbial community composition depending on the tillage practice, but not the fertilization intensity were revealed. To examine whether these soil and rhizosphere microbiome differences influence the plant defense response, barley (cultivar Golden Promise) was grown in field or standard potting soil under greenhouse conditions and challenged with Blumeria graminis f. sp. hordei (Bgh). Amplicon sequence analysis showed that preceding tillage practice, but also aboveground Bgh challenge significantly influenced the microbial community composition. Expression of plant defense-related genes PR1b and PR17b was higher in challenged compared to unchallenged plants. The Bgh infection rates were strikingly lower for barley grown in field soil compared to potting soil. Although previous agricultural management shaped the rhizosphere microbiome, no differences in plant health were observed. We propose therefore that the management-independent higher microbial diversity of field soils compared to potting soils contributed to the low infection rates of barley.

U2 - 10.1093/femsec/fiab018

DO - 10.1093/femsec/fiab018

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 33544837

VL - 97

JO - F E M S Microbiology Ecology

JF - F E M S Microbiology Ecology

SN - 0168-6496

IS - 3

ER -