Abstract
It is increasingly being recognized that the transfer of conjugative plasmids across species boundaries plays a vital role in the adaptability of bacterial populations in soil. There are ...specific driving forces and constraints of plasmid transfer within bacterial communities in soils. Plasmid-mediated genetic variation allows bacteria to respond rapidly with adaptive responses to challenges such as irregular antibiotic or metal concentrations, or opportunities such as the utilization of xenobiotic compounds. Cultivation-independent detection and capture of plasmids from soil bacteria, and complete sequencing have provided new insights into the role and ecology of plasmids. Broad host range plasmids such as those belonging to IncP-1 transfer a wealth of accessory functions which are carried by similar plasmid backbones. Plasmids with a narrower host range can be more specifically adapted to particular species and often transfer genes which complement chromosomally encoded functions. Plasmids seem to be an ancient and successful strategy to ensure survival of a soil population in spatial and temporal heterogeneous conditions with various environmental stresses or opportunities that occur irregularly or as a novel challenge in soil.
An overview on the specific conditions for horizontal plasmid transfer in soil, new insight on the plasmids involved and the selective advantages they confer to soil bacterial populations.
Disease suppressive soils with specific suppression of soil-borne pathogens and parasites have been long studied and are most often of microbiological origin. As for the plant-parasitic nematodes ...(PPN), which represent a huge threat to agricultural crops and which successfully defy many conventional control methods, soil progression from conducive to suppressive state is accompanied by the enrichment of specific antagonistic microbial consortia. However, a few microbial groups have come to the fore in diminishing PPN in disease suppressive soils using culture-dependent methods. Studies with cultured strains resulted in understanding the mechanisms by which nematodes are antagonized by microorganisms. Recent culture-independent studies on the microbiome associated with soil, plant roots, and PPN contributed to a better understanding of the functional potential of disease suppressive microbial cohort. Plant root exudation is an important pathway determining host-microbe communication and plays a key role in selection and enrichment of a specific set of microbial antagonists in the rhizosphere as first line of defense against crop pathogens or parasites. Root exudates comprising primary metabolites such as amino acids, sugars, organic acids, and secondary metabolites can also cause modifications in the nematode surface and subsequently affect microbial attachment. A positive interaction between hosts and their beneficial root microbiota is correlated with a low nematode performance on the host. In this review, we first summarized the historical records of nematode-suppressive soils and then focused on more recent studies in this aspect, emphasizing the advances in studying nematode-microbe interactions over time. We highlighted nematode biocontrol mechanisms, especially parasitism, induced systemic resistance, and volatile organic compounds using microbial consortia, or bacterial strains of the genera
,
,
,
,
,
, and
, or fungal isolates of
,
,
,
,
,
,
, and
. We discussed the importance of root exudates in plant communication with PPN and soil microorganisms, emphasizing their role in microbial attachment to the nematode surface and subsequent events of nematode parasitism. Comprehensive understanding of the plant-beneficial microbial consortia and the mechanisms underlying disease suppression may help to develop synthetic microbial communities for biocontrol of PPN, thereby reducing nematicides and fertilizers inputs.
Highlights • Antibiotics applied to soil with manure increased abundance and transfer of resistance genes. • Antibiotics transiently affected structure and functioning of soil microbial communities. ...• Dissipation of antibiotics and transfer of resistance genes were enhanced in the rhizosphere. • Continuous release of antibiotics from sequestered forms into soil water prolonged bioavailability.
Manuring of arable soils may stimulate the spread of resistance genes by introduction of resistant populations and antibiotics. We investigated effects of pig manure and sulfadiazine (SDZ) on ...bacterial communities in soil microcosms. A silt loam and a loamy sand were mixed with manure containing SDZ (10 or 100 mg per kilogram of soil), and compared with untreated soil and manured soil without SDZ over a 2-month period. In both soils, manure and SDZ positively affected the quotients of total and SDZ-resistant culturable bacteria most probable number (MPN), and transfer frequencies of plasmids conferring SDZ resistance in filter matings of soil bacteria and an Escherichia coli recipient. Detection of sulfonamide resistance genes sul1, sul2 and sul3 in community DNA by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and hybridization revealed a high prevalence of sul1 in manure and manured soils, while sul2 was mainly found in the loamy sand treated with manure and high SDZ amounts, and sul3 was not detected. By PCR quantification of sul1 and bacterial rrn genes, a transient effect of manure alone and a long-term effect of SDZ plus manure on absolute and relative sul1 abundance in soil was shown. The dynamics in soil of class 1 integrons, which are typically associated with sul1, was analysed by amplification of the gene cassette region. Integrons introduced by manure established in both soils. Soil type and SDZ affected the composition of integrons. The synergistic effects of manure and SDZ were still detectable after 2 months. The results suggest that manure from treated pigs enhances spread of antibiotic resistances in soil bacterial communities.
The potential of bacterial antagonists of fungal pathogens to control the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita was investigated under greenhouse conditions. Treatment of tomato seeds with several ...strains significantly reduced the numbers of galls and egg masses compared with the untreated control. Best performed Bacillus subtilis isolates Sb4-23, Mc5-Re2, and Mc2-Re2, which were further studied for their mode of action with regard to direct effects by bacterial metabolites or repellents, and plant mediated effects. Drenching of soil with culture supernatants significantly reduced the number of egg masses produced by M. incognita on tomato by up to 62% compared to the control without culture supernatant. Repellence of juveniles by the antagonists was shown in a linked twin-pot set-up, where a majority of juveniles penetrated roots on the side without inoculated antagonists. All tested biocontrol strains induced systemic resistance against M. incognita in tomato, as revealed in a split-root system where the bacteria and the nematodes were inoculated at spatially separated roots of the same plant. This reduced the production of egg masses by up to 51%, while inoculation of bacteria and nematodes in the same pot had only a minor additive effect on suppression of M. incognita compared to induced systemic resistance alone. Therefore, the plant mediated effect was the major reason for antagonism rather than direct mechanisms. In conclusion, the bacteria known for their antagonistic potential against fungal pathogens also suppressed M. incognita. Such "multi-purpose" bacteria might provide new options for control strategies, especially with respect to nematode-fungus disease complexes that cause synergistic yield losses.
Genes of host plants and parasitic nematodes govern the plant-nematode interaction. The biological receptors and parasitism effectors are variable among plant species and nematode populations, ...respectively. In the present study, hatch testing and bioassays on cabbage, oilseed radish, and mustard were conducted to compare the biological characteristics among six populations of the beet cyst nematode
. Genetic patterns of the
gene for the studied populations were distinct as shown by denaturing the gradient gel electrophoresis of PCR-amplified gene fragments. Concurrently, significant differences in the hatching rates, number of penetrated J2 in roots, and eggs/cyst ratios among the six nematode populations for the three cruciferous species were observed. In conclusion, analyzing the population genetic structure of
plays a pivotal role in illustrating the variability in the plant-nematode interaction among its populations and plant species, which in its role leads to developing nematode management depending on plant resistance.
Plant-parasitic nematodes cause considerable damage to crop plants. The rhizosphere microbiome can affect invasion and reproductive success of plant-parasitic nematodes, thus affecting plant damage. ...In this study, we investigated how the transplanted rhizosphere microbiome from different crops affect plant-parasitic nematodes on soybean or tomato, and whether the plant's own microbiome from the rhizosphere protects it better than the microbiome from fallow soil. Soybean plants growing in sterilized substrate were inoculated with the microbiome extracted from the rhizosphere of soybean, maize, or tomato. Controls were inoculated with extracts from bulk soil, or not inoculated. After the microbiome was established, the root lesion nematode
was added. Root invasion of
was significantly reduced on soybean plants inoculated with the microbiome from maize or soybean compared to tomato or bulk soil, or the uninoculated control. In the analogous experiment with tomato plants inoculated with either
or the root knot nematode
, the rhizosphere microbiomes of maize and tomato reduced root invasion by
and
compared to microbiomes from soybean or bulk soil. Reproduction of
on tomato followed the same trend, and it was best suppressed by the tomato rhizosphere microbiome. In split-root experiments with soybean and tomato plants, a systemic effect of the inoculated rhizosphere microbiomes on root invasion of
was shown. Furthermore, some transplanted microbiomes slightly enhanced plant growth compared to uninoculated plants. The microbiomes from maize rhizosphere and bulk soil increased the fresh weights of roots and shoots of soybean plants, and microbiomes from soybean rhizosphere and bulk soil increased the fresh weights of roots and shoots of tomato plants. Nematode invasion did not affect plant growth in these short-term experiments. In conclusion, this study highlights the importance of the rhizosphere microbiome in protecting crops against plant-parasitic nematodes. An effect of pre-crops on the rhizosphere microbiome might be harnessed to enhance the resistance of crops towards plant-parasitic nematodes. However, nematode-suppressive effects of a particular microbiome may not necessarily coincide with improvement of plant growth in the absence of plant-parasitic nematodes.
Early maturing varieties of soybean have a high yield potential in Europe, where the main biotic threat to soybean cultivation are root lesion nematodes (Pratylenchus spp.). Nitrogen fixation in root ...nodules by highly efficient inoculants of Bradyrhizobium japonicum is an incentive to grow soybean in low-input rotation systems. We investigated density-dependent effects of Pratylenchus penetrans on nitrogen fixation by co-inoculated B. japonicum. Less than 130 inoculated nematodes affected the number and weight of nodules, the density of viable bacteroids in nodules, and nitrogen fixation measured as concentration of ureides in leaves. With more inoculated nematodes, the percentage that invaded the roots increased, and adverse effects on the symbiosis accelerated, leading to non-functional nodules at 4,000 and more nematodes. When P. penetrans invaded roots that had fully established nodules, growth of nodules, density of bacteroids, and nitrogen fixation were affected but not the number of nodules. In contrast, nodulation of already infested roots resulted in a high number of small nodules with decreased densities of bacteroids and nitrogen fixation. P. penetrans invaded and damaged the nodules locally, but they also significantly affected the nodule symbiosis by a plant-mediated mechanism, as shown in an experiment with split-root systems.
Endoparasitic root-knot (Meloidogyne spp.) and lesion (Pratylenchus spp.) nematodes cause considerable damage in agriculture. Before they invade roots to complete their life cycle, soil microbes can ...attach to their cuticle or surface coat and antagonize the nematode directly or by induction of host plant defenses. We investigated whether the nematode-associated microbiome in soil differs between infective stages of Meloidogyne incognita and Pratylenchus penetrans, and whether it is affected by variation in the composition of microbial communities among soils. Nematodes were incubated in suspensions of five organically and two integrated horticultural production soils, recovered by sieving and analyzed for attached bacteria and fungi after washing off loosely adhering microbes. Significant effects of the soil type and nematode species on nematode-associated fungi and bacteria were revealed as analyzed by community profiling using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis. Attached microbes represented a small specific subset of the soil microbiome. Two organic soils had very similar bacterial and fungal community profiles, but one of them was strongly suppressive towards root-knot nematodes. They were selected for deep amplicon sequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA genes and fungal ITS. Significant differences among the microbiomes associated with the two species in both soils suggested specific surface epitopes. Among the 28 detected bacterial classes, Betaproteobacteria, Bacilli and Actinobacteria were the most abundant. The most frequently detected fungal genera were Malassezia, Aspergillus and Cladosporium. Attached microbiomes did not statistically differ between these two soils. However, Malassezia globosa and four fungal species of the family Plectosphaerellaceae, and the bacterium Neorhizobium galegae were strongly enriched on M. incognita in the suppressive soil. In conclusion, the highly specific attachment of microbes to infective stages of phytonematodes in soil suggested an ecological role of this association and might be involved in soil suppressiveness towards them.
The complex and enormous diversity of microorganisms associated with plant roots is important for plant health and growth and is shaped by numerous factors. This study aimed to unravel the effects of ...the soil type on bacterial communities in the rhizosphere of field-grown lettuce. We used an experimental plot system with three different soil types that were stored at the same site for 10 years under the same agricultural management to reveal differences directly linked to the soil type and not influenced by other factors such as climate or cropping history. Bulk soil and rhizosphere samples were collected 3 and 7 weeks after planting. The analysis of 16S rRNA gene fragments amplified from total community DNA by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and pyrosequencing revealed soil type dependent differences in the bacterial community structure of the bulk soils and the corresponding rhizospheres. The rhizosphere effect differed depending on the soil type and the plant growth developmental stage. Despite the soil type dependent differences in the bacterial community composition several genera such as Sphingomonas, Rhizobium, Pseudomonas, and Variovorax were significantly increased in the rhizosphere of lettuce grown in all three soils. The number of rhizosphere responders was highest 3 weeks after planting. Interestingly, in the soil with the highest numbers of responders the highest shoot dry weights were observed. Heatmap analysis revealed that many dominant operational taxonomic units were shared among rhizosphere samples of lettuce grown in diluvial sand, alluvial loam, and loess loam and that only a subset was increased in relative abundance in the rhizosphere compared to the corresponding bulk soil. The findings of the study provide insights into the effect of soil types on the rhizosphere microbiome of lettuce.
PDF
