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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Microbe and Virus Interactions with Plants
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1448301
This article is part of the Research Topic Microbial-Mediated Induced Resistance: Interactive Effects for Improving Crop Health View all 9 articles

The impact of salinization on soil bacterial diversity, yield and quality of Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch

Provisionally accepted
Yangmei Bao Yangmei Bao 1Bin Ma Bin Ma 2Neil B. McLaughlin Neil B. McLaughlin 3Ying Niu Ying Niu 2Dongqing Wang Dongqing Wang 2Hua Liu Hua Liu 2Ming Li Ming Li 2Zhirong Sun Zhirong Sun 1*
  • 1 School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China
  • 2 Institute of Forestry and Grassland Ecology, Ningxia Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Yinchuan, Henan Province, China
  • 3 Ottawa Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Soil salinization seriously affects soil microbial diversity, and crop yield and quality worldwide. Microorganisms play a vital role in the process of crop yield and quality. Traditional Chinese medicine Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch. (licorice) can grow tenaciously in the heavily salinized land. However, the relationship between licorice plants and soil microorganisms is not clear. A field experiment was carried out to explore the effects of three different degrees of salinized soils on (i) licorice crop performance indicators, (ii) soil physical and chemical properties, and (iii) the changes in soil bacterial community structure and functional diversity in a semi-arid area of northwest China. The results showed that with the aggravation of soil salinization, the licorice yield, soil nutrients, and the bacterial abundance of Gemmatimonadetes and Myxococcota showed a downward trend, while the concentration of glycyrrhizic acid and liquiritin, and the bacterial abundance of Actinobacteria and Firmicutes showed an upward trend. The change of licorice yield mainly depended on the soil physical and chemical properties (e.g. EC and alkaline hydrolysable nitrogen). The change of licorice quality was more closely related to the change of bacterial diversity. The effect of bacterial diversity on liquiritin was greater than that on glycyrrhizic acid. Among them, Gemmatimonadetes were significantly negatively correlated with liquiritin and glycyrrhizic acid. These findings suggest that the increased soil Actinobacteria and Firmicutes or reduced Gemmatimonadetes and Myxococcota may provide a healthy and suitable living condition for the sustainable development of medicinal plant crops in a salinized soil ecosystem.

    Keywords: Salinization, soil bacteria, Chinese medicinal materials, Adaptability, Yield and quality

    Received: 13 Jun 2024; Accepted: 02 Aug 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Bao, Ma, McLaughlin, Niu, Wang, Liu, Li and Sun. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Zhirong Sun, School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.