AUTHOR=Peng Zheng , Guo Xiuzhi , Xiang ZengXu , Liu Dahui , Yu Kun , Sun Kai , Yan Binbin , Wang Sheng , Kang Chuanzhi , Xu Yang , Wang Hongyang , Wang Tielin , Lyu Chaogeng , Xue Wenjun , Feng Li , Guo Lanping , Zhang Yan , Huang Luqi 

TITLE=Maize intercropping enriches plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria and promotes both the growth and volatile oil concentration of Atractylodes lancea

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2022.1029722

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2022.1029722

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=<p>In the <italic>Atractylodes lancea</italic> (<italic>A. lancea</italic>)-maize intercropping system, maize can promote the growth of <italic>A. lancea</italic>, but it is unclear whether this constitutes an aboveground or belowground process. In this study, we investigated the mechanisms of the root system interaction between <italic>A. lancea</italic> and maize using three different barrier conditions: no barrier (AI), nylon barrier (AN), and plastic barrier (AP) systems. The biomass, volatile oil concentration, physicochemical properties of the soil, and rhizosphere microorganisms of the <italic>A. lancea</italic> plant were determined. The results showed that (1) the <italic>A. lancea</italic> - maize intercropping system could promote the growth of <italic>A. lancea</italic> and its accumulation of volatile oils; (2) a comparison of the CK, AI, and AP treatments revealed that it was the above-ground effect of maize specifically that promoted the accumulation of both atractylon and atractylodin within the volatile oils of <italic>A. lancea</italic>, but inhibited the accumulation of hinesol and β-eudesmol; (3) in comparing the soil physicochemical properties of each treatment group, intercropping maize acidified the root soil of <italic>A. lancea</italic>, changed its root soil physicochemical properties, and increased the abundance of the acidic rhizosphere microbes of <italic>A. lancea</italic> at the phylum level; (4) in an analysis of rhizosphere microbial communities of <italic>A. lancea</italic> under different barrier systems, intercropping was found to promote plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) enrichment, including <italic>Streptomyces</italic>, <italic>Bradyrhizobium</italic>, <italic>Candidatus Solibacter</italic>, <italic>Gemmatirosa</italic>, and <italic>Pseudolabrys</italic>, and the biomass of <italic>A. lancea</italic> was significantly influenced by PGPR. In summary, we found that the rhizosphere soil of <italic>A. lancea</italic> was acidified in intercropping with maize, causing the accumulation of PGPR, which was beneficial to the growth of <italic>A. lancea</italic>.</p>