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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Terrestrial Microbiology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1538093
This article is part of the Research Topic Soil Microbial Communities to Promote Suppressiveness against Soil-Borne Pathogens and Diseases View all 7 articles

The occurrence of wheat crown rot correlates with the microbial community and function in rhizosphere soil

Provisionally accepted
Yajiao Wang Yajiao Wang 1Jian Feng Jian Feng 2Jianhai Gao Jianhai Gao 3Sen Han Sen Han 1Qiusheng Li Qiusheng Li 1Lingxiao Kong Lingxiao Kong 1Yuxing Wu Yuxing Wu 1*
  • 1 Institute of Plant Protection, Hebei Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, Baoding, China
  • 2 Plant protection plant inspection station of Baoding city, Baoding, China
  • 3 Cangxian Agriculture and rural Bureau, Cangxian, China

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

    Wheat crown rot (WCR) is a significant soil-borne disease affecting wheat production worldwide.. Understanding the impact of wheat crown rot on the structure and function of microbial communities in the wheat rhizosphere soil can provide a theoretical basis for the mining biological control resources against WCR. In this study, rhizosphere soils with varying WCR severities (light, moderate, severe) were analyzed for chemical properties, microbial community composition and functions using high-throughput sequencing. The results revealed that WCR decreased rhizosphere soil pH, the content of available nitrogen and phosphorus, and the abundance of beneficial taxa such as Bacillus and Streptomyces. Additionally, functional predictions showed that microbial communities adapted to WCR by enhancing signaling pathways and reducing their anabolic activity. From soil with light WCR occurrence, we isolated Bacillus velezensis BF-237, whose abundance was reduced by WCR. Greenhouse experiments demonstrated that BF-237 achieved a control efficiency of 56.61% against WCR in artificially inoculated sterilized soil and 53.32% in natural soil. This study clarifies the impact of wheat crown rot on the community structure, and function of rhizosphere soil microorganisms, alongside identifying a promising biocontrol agent.

    Keywords: Wheat crown rot, Soil chemical properties, Rhizosphere microbial community, Bacillus velezensis, biological control

    Received: 02 Dec 2024; Accepted: 27 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Wang, Feng, Gao, Han, Li, Kong and Wu. 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: Yuxing Wu, Institute of Plant Protection, Hebei Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, Baoding, 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.