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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Symbiotic Interactions
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1461893
This article is part of the Research Topic Plant-Soil-Microbial Interactions in Arid Areas View all articles

Root exudates facilitate the regulation of soil microbial community function in the genus Haloxylon

Provisionally accepted
Deyan Wu Deyan Wu 1Xuemin He Xuemin He 1Lamei Jiang Lamei Jiang 2Wenjing Li Wenjing Li 1Hengfang Wang Hengfang Wang 1Guanghui Lü Guanghui Lü 1,3*
  • 1 Xinjiang University, Urumqi, Xinjiang Uyghur Region, China
  • 2 Xinjiang Agricultural University, Ürümqi, Xinjiang Uyghur Region, China
  • 3 College of Resource and Environment Sciences, Xinjiang University, Urumqi, China

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

    Root exudates act as the "language" of plant-soil communication, facilitating crucial interactions, information exchange, and energy transfer between plants and soil. The interactions facilitated by root exudates between plants and microorganisms in the rhizosphere are crucial for nutrient uptake and stress resilience in plants.However, the mechanism underlying the interaction between root exudates and rhizosphere microorganisms in desert plants under drought conditions remains unclear, especially among closely related species. Therefore, this study aims to reveal the ecological strategies employed by the genus Haloxylon in different habitats. Here, we analyzed root exudates and soil microorganisms from two closely related species, Haloxylon ammodendron (HA) and Haloxylon persicum (HP), to assess differences in their root exudates, soil microbial composition, and interactions. Significant differences were found in soil properties and root traits between the two species, among which soil water content (SWC) and soil organic carbon (SOC) in rhizosphere and bulk soils (P < 0.05). While the metabolite classification of root exudates was similar, their components varied, with terpenoids being the main differential metabolites. Soil microbial structure and diversity also exhibited significant differences, with distinct key species in the network and differential functional processes mainly related to nitrogen and carbon cycles. Strong correlations were observed between root exudate-mediated root traits, soil microorganisms, and soil properties, although the complex interactions differed between the two closely relative species. The primary metabolites found in the network of HA include sugars and fatty acids, while HP relies on secondary metabolites, steroids and terpenoids. These findings suggest that root exudates are key in shaping rhizosphere microbial communities, increasing microbial functionality, fostering symbiotic relationships with hosts, and bolstering the resilience of plants to environmental stress.

    Keywords: root exudates, genus Haloxylon, soil microorganisms, root traits, rhizosphere

    Received: 09 Jul 2024; Accepted: 02 Sep 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Wu, He, Jiang, Li, Wang and Lü. 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: Guanghui Lü, College of Resource and Environment Sciences, Xinjiang University, Urumqi, China

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