Rhizosphere microorganisms are thought to play a crucial role in the
promotion of plant growth and health. Carex praeclara and
Leymus secalinus are dominant plant species that have colonized
the desertification land of Alpine wetland grasslands in Zoige. There is
a lack of comprehensive research on their rhizosphere microbes. In this
study, we used deep shotgun metagenomic sequencing to analyze the
microbial community and functional composition of the rhizosphere and
corresponding non-rhizosphere soils of C. praeclara and L.
secalinus. The microbial diversity and structure exhibited a remarkable
difference among the rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere samples, and the
predominant taxa included Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria
and Chloroflexi in all the samples. Genes that were over-represented
include those involved in the acquisition of nutrients, stress
responses, transposable elements and plant growth promotion suggest that
the interactions between microbe-plant and microbe-microbe are more
intense in the rhizosphere soil. The relative abundances of pivotal
genes that participate in microbial nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P)
transformation were higher in the rhizosphere soil than in the
non-rhizosphere soil, indicating the enhancement of potential soil N-
and P-cycling in the plant rhizosphere. Our findings provide valuable
information on the structure and function of the microbial communities
of the C. praeclara and L. secalinus rhizospheres and lay
a foundation for the further use of C. praeclara and L.
secalinus to increase vegetation coverage, improve soil properties and
restore the ecological function of degraded alpine sandy land.
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