Effects of Continuous Sugar Beet Cropping on Rhizospheric Microbial Communities

Abstract

The continuous cropping of sugar beet can result in soil degradation and a decrease in the sugar beet yield and quality. However, the role of continuous sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L. var. saccharifera) cropping in shaping the structure and function of the rhizosphere microbial community remains poorly investigated. In this study, we comparatively investigated the impact of different numbers of years of continuous sugar beet cropping on structural and functional changes in the microbial community of the rhizosphere using high-throughput sequencing and bioinformatics analysis. We collected rhizosphere soils from fields continuously cropped for one-year (T1), five-year (T5), and thirty-year (T30) periods, as well as one bulk soil (T0), in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The results demonstrated that continuous sugar beet cropping resulted in a significant decline in the community diversity of soil bacterial and fungal populations from T1 to T5. With continuous change in the structure of the microbial community, the Shannon diversity and observed species were increased in T30. With an abundance of pathogenic microbes, including Acidobacteria, Alternaria, and Fusarium, that were highly enriched in T30, soil-borne diseases could be accelerated, deduced by functional predictions based on 16S rRNA genes. Continuous sugar beet cropping also led to significant declines in beneficial bacteria, including Actinobacteria, Pseudomonas spp., and Bacillus spp. In addition, we profiled and analyzed predictive metabolic characteristics (metabolism and detoxification). The abundance of phenolic acid decarboxylase involved in the phenolic acid degradation pathway was significantly lower in groups T5 and T30 than that in T0 and T1, which could result in the phenolic compounds becoming excessive in long-term continuous cropping soil. Our results provide a deeper understanding of the rhizosphere soil microbial community's response to continuous sugar beet cropping, which is important in evaluating the sustainability of this agricultural practice.

Effects of continuous cropping of sweet potatoes on the bacterial community structure in rhizospheric soil

“…Continuous cropping obstacles have a certain relationship with soil enzyme activity, soil microbial community, and root exudates [8][9][10]. Soil microorganisms are the key factors related to changes in soil quality, fertility, and productivity [11][12][13].…”

Effects of plant cultivars on the structure of bacterial and fungal communities associated with ginseng

“…4b). Root rot is a common and severe disease caused by many pathogens, such as Alternaria alternata and Cladosporium spp., and occurs under the continuous cropping of watermelon [36], [37]. In summary, BIANTIAO ginseng was not easily infected compared with the other ginseng cultivars.…”

Understanding the Impact of Cultivar, Seed Origin, and Substrate on Bacterial Diversity of the Sugar Beet Rhizosphere and Suppression of Soil-Borne Pathogens

“…These factors are known to favor the development of soil communities suppressive to certain pathogens ( Mazzola, 2002 ; Eberlein et al., 2020 ). Continuous cropping of sugar beet is known to influence the field soil community, accelerating the abundance of different taxa in the microbial soil community over time ( Huang et al., 2020 ). We found partially cultivar-specific differences between root communities.…”