Effects of plant host species and plant community richness on streptomycete community structure

Abstract

We investigated soil streptomycete communities associated with four host plant species (two warm season C4 grasses: Andropogon gerardii, Schizachyrium scoparium and two legumes: Lespedeza capitata, Lupinus perennis), grown in plant communities varying in species richness. We used actinobacteria-selective PCR coupled with pyrosequencing to characterize streptomycete community composition and structure. The greatest pairwise distances between communities were observed in contrasts between monocultures of different plant species, indicating that plant species exert distinct selective effects on soil streptomycete populations. Increasing plant richness altered the composition and structure of streptomycete communities associated with each host plant species. Significant relationships between plant community characteristics, soil edaphic characteristics, and streptomycete community structure suggest that host plant effects on soil microbial communities may be mediated through changes to the soil environment. Co-occurring streptomycete taxa also shared consistent relationships with soil edaphic properties, providing further indication of the importance of habitat preference for taxon occurrence. Physical distance between sampling points had a significant influence on streptomycete community similarity. This work provides a detailed characterization of soil streptomycete populations across a field scale and in relation to plant host identity and plant community richness.

Analysis on Fungal Diversity in Rhizosphere Soil of Continuous Cropping Potato Subjected to Different Furrow-Ridge Mulching Managements

“…In the present study, the complexity of soil–plant–microbial system could explain the large non-significant potato tuber among treatments with increased in continuous cropping years. Bakker et al (2013) noted that potato competent microbes important for crop productivity is determined by site, cultivar and soil type that influence microbial community and consequently for better soil quality and crop yield.…”

Characterization of Early Microbial Communities on Volcanic Deposits along a Vegetation Gradient on the Island of Miyake, Japan

“…3A and 3E), which are generally known to decompose recalcitrant polymers in soils (17). A recent study of Zimmerman sand created by glacial outwash indicated that host plant species and increasing plant richness altered the composition of Streptomyces communities, which were the most abundant among the Actinobacteria (1). Similar to this finding, in our study, the family-level composition of Actinobacteria in the volcanic deposits was also found to differ distinctly at different sites (Fig.…”

Linking ecology and plant pathology to unravel the importance of soil-borne fungal pathogens in species-rich grasslands

“…Also in natural grasslands, the diversity of neighbouring plants has been found to affect Streptomyces spp. and fungal communities in soil at the base of specific plant species (Bakker et al 2013;LeBlanc et al 2014). Whereas the fungal communities were distinctly different between two grasses and two legumes grown in monoculture, they became similar when the species where grown in mixtures.…”