AUTHOR=Macias-Benitez Sandra , Garcia-Martinez Ana MarĂa , Caballero Jimenez Pablo , Gonzalez Juan Miguel , Tejada Moral Manuel , Parrado Rubio Juan TITLE=Rhizospheric Organic Acids as Biostimulants: Monitoring Feedbacks on Soil Microorganisms and Biochemical Properties JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science VOLUME=11 YEAR=2020 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2020.00633 DOI=10.3389/fpls.2020.00633 ISSN=1664-462X ABSTRACT=
The biostimulant potential of three different organic acids (OAs) present in the rhizosphere, specifically lactic, oxalic, and citric acids, have been studied. The results showed a rapid and complete metabolism of these three acids with soil microorganisms using them as a source of carbon and energy. Biostimulation was confirmed by soil biochemical studies which showed an increase in enzymatic activities, such as dehydrogenase and phosphatase, lactic and citric acids being those that produced the greatest biostimulation. With regard to microbiota composition, amplicon sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene showed changes in the structure of soil microbial communities. Applying OAs produced a decrease in richness and diversity indices, inducing specific changes in the structure of the microbiological communities. Applying lactic acid induced rapid changes in microbiota composition at both phylum and family taxonomic levels, favoring the proliferation of microorganisms involved in its degradation and soil fertility, such as the genus