Rhizosphere impacts bacterial community structure in the tea (Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze.) estates of Darjeeling, India

Abstract

India contributes 28% of the world's tea production, and the Darjeeling tea of India is a world-famous tea variety known for its unique quality, flavour and aroma. This study analyzed the spatial distribution of bacterial communities in the tea rhizosphere of six different tea estates at different altitudes. The organic carbon, total nitrogen and available phosphate were higher in the rhizosphere soils than the bulk soils, irrespective of the sites. Alpha and beta diversities were significantly (p < 0.05) higher in the bulk soil than in the rhizosphere. Among the identified phyla, the predominant ones were Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria and Acidobacteria. At the genus level, only four out of 23 predominant genera (>1% relative abundance) could be classified, viz., Candidatus Solibacter (5.36 AE 0.36%), Rhodoplanes (4.87 AE 0.3%), Candidatus Koribacter (2.3 AE 0.67%), Prevotella (1.49 AE 0.26%). The rhizosphere effect was prominent from the significant depletion of more ASVs (n = 39) compared to enrichment (n = 11). The functional genes also exhibit a similar trend with the enrichment of N 2 fixation genes, disease suppression and Acetoin synthesis. Our study reports that the rhizobiome of tea is highly selective by reducing the alpha and beta diversity while enriching the significant functional genes.

Microbial Community Shifts in Tea Plant Rhizosphere under Seawater Stress: Enrichment of Beneficial Taxa

“…This explained that the diversity of the rhizosphere microbial community was relatively low under normal conditions and maintained at a high level compared to the bulk soil under seawater stress in this study. There are reports indicating that the tea rhizosphere flora demonstrates a high level of selectivity, resulting in a reduction in the diversity of rhizosphere microorganisms and the enrichment of particular microorganisms [31]. However, further research is needed to determine if the selected microbial community in the tea rhizosphere can enhance its ability to withstand saltwater stress.…”

“…The rhizosphere of tea plants harbors a unique and highly selective microbial community that is sensitive to climate change [29][30][31]. This phenomenon is progressively impacting agricultural areas, including tea plantations [32].…”

The assessment of microbial ecology: a special emphasis on the Indian scenario

“…Similarly, the bacterial communities of tea rhizospheres are highly selective and the functional genes are supposed to be highly enriched. In one such study in this issue, the authors examined six tea estates at different altitudes for the spatial distribution of bacterial communities in the tea rhizosphere (Bhattacharyya et al ., 2021a).…”