Soil protists: An untapped microbial resource of agriculture and environmental importance

Protists are essential components of soil biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. They play a vital role in the microbial food web as consumers of bacteria, fungi, and other small eukaryotes and are also involved in maintaining soil fertility and plant productivity. Protists also contribute to regulating and shaping the bacterial community in terrestrial ecosystems via specific prey spectra. They play a role in plant growth promotion and plant health improvement,mostly via nutrient cycling, grazing, and the activation of bacterial genes required for plant growth and phytopathogen suppression. Thus, protists may prove to be a useful inoculant as biofertilizer and biocontrol agent. They can also be applied as model organisms as bioindicators of soil health. Despite their usefulness and essentiality, they are often forgotten and under-researched components of the soil microbiome, as most of our research focuses on bacteria and fungi. In this review, we provide an overview of the role of protists in plant productivity and plant health management and in shifts in soil bacterial community composition, as well as their roles as bioindicator. We also discuss the perspectives of knowledge gaps and future prospects to further improve soil biology.More research in soil protistology will provide insights into sustainable agriculture and environmental health alongside the study of bacteria and fungi.     

Rhizosphere microbiomes can regulate plant drought tolerance

Beneficial root-associated rhizospheric microbes play a key role in maintaining host plant growth and can potentially allow drought-resilient crop production. The complex interaction of root-associated microbes mainly depends on soil type, plant genotype, and soil moisture. However, drought is the most devastating environmental stress that strongly reduces soil biota and can restrict plant growth and yield. In this review, we discussed our mechanistic understanding of drought and microbial response traits. Additionally, we highlighted the role of beneficial microbes and plant-derived metabolites in alleviating drought stress and improving crop growth. We proposed that future research might focus on evaluating the dynamics of root-beneficial microbes under field drought conditions. The integrative use of ecology, microbial, and molecular approaches may serve as a promising strategy to produce more drought-resilient and sustainable crops.     

Ureolytic microorganisms and soil fertility: A review

Abstract

Soil microorganisms play an important role in increasing soil fertility and recycling of nutrients within the soil. Different microorganisms including filamentous fungi, yeasts, mycorrhiza, bacteria, cyanobacteria, and actinomycetes possess the urease enzymes. Urease plays a role in soil enrichment through degradation or hydrolysis of organic nitrogen (N). Urea is an important fertilizer and may enter the soil with the excretions of higher animals and through destruction of the nitrogenous bases contained in the nucleic acids of plant and animal tissues. These products increase soil fertility by an urease. Ureolytic production and activity, and fertility of soil are affected by chemical propertes of soil, environmental factors, sources of urea, and soil microorganism. Problems encountered in use of urea as a fertilizer result from its rapid hydrolysis to ammonium carbonate by soil urease activity and the concomitant rise in pH and accumulation of ammonium. These problems include damage to germinating seedlings and young plants and gaseous loss of urea N as ammonia. The technologies and management practices that can be used to improve urea efficiency and reduce losses include coating of granules, soil incorporation, and use of new slow‐release fertilizers by forming sparingly soluble urea‐aldehyde compounds as ureaforms, crotonylidene diurea, isobutylidene diurea or using natural N‐containing compounds such as composted sludges of municipal and animal wastes. The degradative process of the ureolytic microorganims on animal and plant organic N wastes could help to satisfy condition of eliminating excessive wastes and pollution and simultaneously supply plant with available N.     

Promotion of plant growth by an auxin-producing isolate of the yeast Williopsis saturnus endophytic in maize (Zea mays L.) roots

A plant-growth-promoting isolate of the yeast Williopsis saturnus endophytic in maize roots was found to be capable of producing indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and indole-3-pyruvic acid (IPYA) in vitro in a chemically defined medium. It was selected from among 24 endophytic yeasts isolated from surface-disinfested maize roots and evaluated for their potential to produce IAA and to promote maize growth under gnotobiotic and glasshouse conditions. The addition of l-tryptophan (L-TRP), as a precursor for auxins, to the medium inoculated with W. saturnus enhanced the production of IAA and IPYA severalfold compared to an L-TRP-non-amended medium. The introduction of W. saturnus to maize seedlings by the pruned-root dip method significantly (P<0.05) enhanced the growth of maize plants grown under gnotobiotic and glasshouse conditions in a soil amended with or without L-TRP. This was evident from the increases in the dry weights and lengths of roots and shoots and also in the significant (P<0.05) increases in the levels of in planta IAA and IPYA compared with control plants grown in L-TRP-amended or non-amended soil. The plant growth promotion by W. saturnus was most pronounced in the presence of L-TRP as soil amendment compared to seedlings inoculated with W. saturnus and grown in soil not amended with L-TRP. In the glasshouse test, W. saturnus was recovered from inside the root at all samplings, up to 8 weeks after inoculation, indicating that the roots of healthy maize may be a habitat for the endophytic yeast. An endophytic isolate of Rhodotorula glutinis that was incapable of producing detectable levels of IAA or IPYA in vitro failed to increase the endogenous levels of IAA and IPYA and failed to promote plant growth compared to W. saturnus, although colonization of maize root tissues by R. glutinis was similar to that of W. saturnus. Both endophytic yeasts, W. saturnus and R. glutinis, were incapable of producing in vitro detectable levels of gibberellic acid, isopentenyl adenine, isopentenyl adenoside or zeatin in their culture filtrates. This study is the first published report to demonstrate the potential of an endophytic yeast to promote plant growth. This is also the first report of the production of auxins by yeasts endophytic in plant roots.     

Prospecting microbial biofilms as climate smart strategies for improving plant and soil health: A review

Microbes and their products play key roles in complementing chemical fertilizers and plant protection chemicals by eliciting defence mechanisms in crop plants, thereby providing immunity and resistance against diverse stresses. Among the different environmental technologies used to mitigate climate change,several microbiological interventions are promising, among which biofilms, both naturally-existing and laboratory-developed, and their application have gained momentum recently. Microbial biofi...     

Harnessing Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria Beyond Nature: A Review

Root-associated plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) interact with the plant roots and influence plant health and soil fertility. Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria play an important role in plant growth by exerting various mechanisms such as biological nitrogen fixation, growth hormone production, phosphate solubilization, siderophore production, hydrolytic enzyme production, antagonistic activity against fungal pathogens etc. Hence, these are employed as inoculants for biofertilizer and biocontrol activities. This review summarizes various mechanisms of PGPR and their potential for use as inoculants. It shows that their use is a worthwhile approach for exploring disease management in conjunction with other strategies.     

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal hyphae enhance transport of the allelochemical juglone in the field

Allelopathy is a biological phenomenon where plants have harmful effects on growth of surrounding plants through the production of chemical substances. Here we focus on allelochemical processes which operate belowground, can influence plant interactions and therefore potentially affect plant community structure. Soil hyphae of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) may enhance transport processes in the soil matrix by providing direct connections between plants facilitating infochemical exchange.In a two-component field study we showed that soil hyphae likely play a crucial role in movement of allelochemicals in natural soils and greatly expand bioactive zones by providing effective transport pathways for chemical compounds. First, we tested the effects of Juglans regia leaf litter extract addition in intact or disrupted hyphal networks and simultaneously determined growth reducing effects on sensitive Lycopersicon lycopersicum plants. Second, we analyzed the effect of juglone on tomato by directly adding leaf litter. In both approaches we found an increase of juglone transport if a hyphal network was present, resulting in reduced growth of target plants.Our results, together with previous work, add to the body of evidence for hyphae of soil fungi playing an important role in the transfer of allelochemicals and effectively acting as transport highways in the field. We suggest that hyphal connections, mostly formed by AMF, increase the effectiveness of allelochemicals in natural systems and can play a crucial role in chemical interaction processes in the soil.     

Interaction with soil enhances the toxic effect of iodide and iodate on barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) compared to artificial culture media during initial growth stage

Iodine is an essential trace element for humans, and while plants play an important role in its supplementation, they can also be subject to iodine toxicity. Herein, comparison of iodide and iodate effects on barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) development was evaluated in laboratory experiments when it was cultivated in iodine-spiked agar cultivation media and agricultural soil. Our results show that iodine toxicity is highly dependent on its chemical form and also reflects growth substrate type. Barley responses to iodine presence in agar and soil media suggest that iodide has more severe inhibitory effects than iodate on plant growth. Furthermore, the detrimental effect of iodine notably increased in soil with biomass synthesis as the most sensitive physiological parameter to adverse iodide and iodate effects. However, mild iodate and iodide stimulation of barley growth was observed which implies they are beneficial for growth at low concentrations. These effects were more intense when iodine was applied as iodide, especially in soil cultivation system where natural geochemical processes lead to alteration in iodine speciation which significantly increases plant sensitivity to iodine toxicity.     

Plant growth-promoting bacteria in the rhizo- and endosphere of plants: Their role, colonization, mechanisms involved and prospects for utilization

In both managed and natural ecosystems, beneficial plant-associated bacteria play a key role in supporting and/or increasing plant health and growth. Plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) can be applied in agricultural production or for the phytoremediation of pollutants. However, because of their capacity to confer plant beneficial effects, efficient colonization of the plant environment is of utmost importance. The majority of plant-associated bacteria derives from the soil environment. They may migrate to the rhizosphere and subsequently the rhizoplane of their hosts before they are able to show beneficial effects. Some rhizoplane colonizing bacteria can also penetrate plant roots, and some strains may move to aerial plant parts, with a decreasing bacterial density in comparison to rhizosphere or root colonizing populations. A better understanding on colonization processes has been obtained mostly by microscopic visualisation as well as by analysing the characteristics of mutants carrying disfunctional genes potentially involved in colonization. In this review we describe the individual steps of plant colonization and survey the known mechanisms responsible for rhizosphere and endophytic competence. The understanding of colonization processes is important to better predict how bacteria interact with plants and whether they are likely to establish themselves in the plant environment after field application as biofertilisers or biocontrol agents.     

盐条件下产胞外多糖植物促生细菌研究

Salt-tolerant plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) can play an important role in alleviating soil salinity stress during plant growth and bacterial exopolysaccharide (EPS) can also help to mitigate salinity stress by reducing the content of Na + available for plant uptake.In this study,native bacterial strains of wheat rhizosphere in soils of Varanasi,India,were screened to identify the EPS-producing salt-tolerant rhizobacteria with plant growth-promoting traits.The various rhizobacteria strains were isolated and identified using 16S rDNA sequencing.The plant growth-promoting effect of inoculation of seedlings with these bacterial strains was evaluated under soil salinity conditions in a pot experiment.Eleven bacterial strains which initially showed tolerance up to 80 g L -1 NaCl also exhibited an EPS-producing potential.The results suggested that the isolated bacterial strains demonstrated some of the plant growth-promoting traits such as phosphate solubilizing ability and production of auxin,proline,reducing sugars,and total soluble sugars.Furthermore,the inoculated wheat plants had an increased biomass compared to the un-inoculated plants.     

芝麻、花生和田菁秸秆还田的化感效应研究

采用盆栽模拟实验研究了具化感作用的芝麻（Sesamum indicum）、花生（Arachis hypogaea）和田菁（Sesbania cannabina）秸秆全株还田对萝卜（Raphanus sativus）、黑麦草（Lolium multiforum）和黄瓜（Cucumis sativus）生长及土壤养分状况的影响,旨在评价秸秆还田释放养分与化感作用对后茬作物幼苗生长效应的综合影响。结果表明：秸秆还田能改善土壤养分状况,对后茬作物幼苗生长具有较好的促进作用。3种作物秸秆还田促进幼苗生长的大小顺序为花生秸秆〉田菁秸秆〉芝麻秸秆〉对照,其中芝麻秸秆对土壤速效磷、速效钾含量提高最大,而花生和田菁秸秆对土壤有机质、全氮的贡献值远远高于另两种处理。3种秸秆还田均对后茬作物幼苗生长和土壤养分具有促进作用,其释放的养分因子占主导作用,而化感作用并未明显表现出阻碍后茬作物幼苗生长。可能原因在于秸秆还田后导致较高pH和土壤养分利于植物生长,并影响了秸秆化感物质的活性和化感作用的发挥。     

Mycorrhizal diversity: Cause and effect?

Mycorrhizal fungi play a critical role in nutrient cycling and ecosystem function. They improve plant growth and survival through a mutualistic relationship in which photosynthates are exchanged for increased access to water and nutrients. Because the benefits realized are not equal among different plant–fungal species combinations, mycorrhizal fungi may help govern plant community structure and successional trajectories. In fact, both plant productivity and plant diversity have been shown to increase with increasing diversity of mycorrhizal fungi. The diversity and species composition of plant communities also exert a reciprocal influence on associated mycorrhizal communities, although edaphic factors may also play a role. Given this inherent bi-directionality of mycorrhizal relationships, the potential exists for positive feedback mechanisms which may promote and maintain both plant and mycorrhizal fungal diversity. This review considers recent literature on both arbuscular and ectomycorrhizal fungal–plant community relationships within a variety of environments, including artificially constructed systems and naturally occurring grasslands and forests.     

Soil inoculation method determines the strength of plant–soil interactions

There is increasing evidence that interactions between plants and biotic components of the soil influence plant productivity and plant community composition. Many plant–soil feedback experiments start from inoculating relatively small amounts of natural soil to sterilized bulk soil. These soil inocula may include a variety of size classes of soil biota, each having a different role in the observed soil feedback effects. In order to examine what may be the effect of various size classes of soil biota we compared inoculation with natural field soil sieved through a 1 mm mesh, a soil suspension also sieved through a 1 mm mesh, and a microbial suspension sieved through a 20 μm mesh. We tested these effects for different populations of the same plant species and for different soil origins.Plant biomass was greatest in pots inoculated with the microbial suspension and smallest in pots inoculated with sieved soil, both in the first and second growth phase, and there was no significant population or soil origin effect. Plant-feeding nematodes were almost exclusively found in the sieved soil treatment. We show that processing the soil to obtain a microbial suspension reduces the strength of the soil effect in both the first and second growth phase. We also show that the results obtained with inoculating sieved soil and with a soil suspension are not comparable. In conclusion, when designing plant–soil feedback experiments, it is crucial to consider that soil inoculum preparation can strongly influence the observed soil effect.     

蚯蚓与丛枝菌根真菌的相互作用及其对植物的影响

蚯蚓和丛枝菌根(Arbuscular mycorrhiza,AM)真菌都是有益的土壤生物,对提高土壤养分有效性和植物吸收利用营养元素具有重要影响。本文综述了蚯蚓对AM真菌取食、传播和侵染的影响、蚯蚓与AM真菌相互作用的效应和机制方面的最新研究进展,以及AM真菌与蚯蚓互作改善植物营养和生长以及协同修复土壤重金属方面的作用,以期为今后研究发展提供依据。     

Abbau von Huminstoffen durch Bodenmikroorganismen — eine Übersicht

Degradation of humic substances by soil microorganisms — a review Humic substances which represent differently extractable fractions of the soil organic matter exert multifarious effects on soil as a site for plant growth and a part of terrestrial environments. Among them especially humic acids and fulvic acids are subject to degradation and/or transformation by soil microorganisms. Several authors demonstrated the participation of different species of fungi, actinomycetes and also of non-mycelial aerobic or anaerobic bacteria in those processes under laboratory conditions. Indications exist that humic substances irrespective of their structure undergo degradation on cell surfaces due to the activity of exoenzymes. In this respect microbial phenoloxidases play an extraordinarily important role. The degradation rate of humic substances can be followed by optical, gravimetric and chemoanalytical methods as well as using biochemical and microbiological procedures (CO₂ release, microbial growth, biomass formation). An objective evaluation, however, can be hindered by the adsorption of humic substances on microbial biomass and sometimes also by formation of novel humic-like microbial metabolites. Therefore it is necessary to apply a multifactorial approach in the study of the degradation of humic substances which includes both quantitative and qualitative parameters. To better elucidate how these processes may occur under natural conditions, mixed populations of soil microorganisms should be predominantly involved in future studies.     

Combined Effect of Phosphate-Solubilizing Microorganisms,Rhizobium and Enterobacter on Root Nodulation and Physiology of Soybean (Glycine max L.)

Although phosphate-solubilizing microorganisms play a positive role in plant growth, their role in plant growth and root nodulation in combination with Rhizobium and Enterobacter has not been fully elucidated. Furthermore, only information exists regarding the effect of inoculation at successive stages of nodulation. The present study aimed to monitor the changes in the production of Indole acetic acid (IAA) and Gibberellin (GA₃) in the roots of soybean during and after nodulation (25 DAS and 40 DAS) and in the rhizosphere soil following inoculation with two different strains of phosphate-solubilizing microorganisms (PSM I, strain CA 18 and PSM II, strain 54RB), Enterobacter strain A and BradyRhizobium Japonicum strain Tal 377. The effects of inoculation on the available NO^?3, K, and P content of soil were studied at harvest. Beneficial effects of inoculation with Rhizobium, Enterobacter, and PSM I and II were obtained in all growth parameters of soybean. Co-inoculation resulted in maximum increase in IAA and GA content, plant biomass, root nodulation, number, weight and length of pods as compared with control (non-inoculated) and single-inoculation plants. The soil of the inoculated plants also showed higher IAA and GA content over.     

几种化合物对东北主要土壤芳基硫酸酯酶活性影响的比较

本着探索化合物添加对土壤芳基硫酸酯酶活性的作用效果的目的,采用室内模拟培养试验方法,以东北黑土、白浆土、棕壤和褐土为供试对象,以还原型谷胱甘肽、ATP和辅酶I 3种化合物作为酶活性调节剂,研究了激活剂对4种土壤芳基硫酸酯酶活性的调节,为进一步研究土壤芳基硫酸酯酶活性的激活调节提供一定参考.结果表明,棕壤在3 d后表现了良好的效果,直达近3个月的时间,棕壤添加ATP和还原型谷胱甘肽的效果好于辅酶I.棕壤添加还原型谷胱甘肽后第3、5、7、15、30、60、90 d芳基硫酸酯酶活性分别为对照的1.09、1.21、1.54、1.28、1.22、0.95、0.96倍,有效硫含量则分别为对照的1.16、1.12、.1.15、1.11、1.08、1.07、1.06倍.棕壤添加ATP第3、5、7、15、30、60、90 d后芳基硫酸酯酶活性分别为对照的1.23、1.49、1.43、1.41、1.30、1.09、1.03倍,但有效硫含量与对照相当.研究所选化合物对供试土壤没有同样的激活效果,需要进一步大量筛选以找到相应的调节剂再对其机理进行深入研究.在施入土壤的肥料中添加有机化合物以激活土壤芳基硫酸酯酶活性,对加速土壤有机硫的矿化,为植物补充硫素营养具有重大意义,对农业生产也有重要的参考价值.     

根系分泌物主要作用及解析技术进展

根系分泌物是植物保持根际微生态系统活力的关键因素，也是根际物质循环的重要组成部分，对根际土壤生态环境中的物质循环具有重要的驱动作用。根系分泌物可以刺激微生物生长，增强其活性，加速根际养分循环，增加土壤养分利用率，并在小规模空间引起温室气体通量的变化。此外，它也是植物参与竞争的重要策略，植物通过根分泌物以获取种间长期生存的养分，甚至分泌对自身有害的化感物质来排挤其他植物，实现自我生存，即使存在自毒作用或引起连作障碍等。植物的健康生长依赖于自身与土壤微生物复杂动态群落的相互作用，但是根际微生物群落结构和组成却又受植物物种、植物生长期、土壤性质、功能基因等因素影响，这些因素的动态变化可能导致根系分泌物的多样化，从而形成复杂多变的根系分泌物与植物的关系，进而影响植物的健康生长。目前，对植物根系分泌物的研究是土壤生态学、植物营养与代谢等领域的研究热点，且随着分析技术手段的快速发展，根系分泌物相关研究也逐渐深入，进一步揭示植物与微生物间的协同作用机理对农、林等行业生产具有重要的指导意义。     

假单胞菌的微生态调节作用

假单胞菌能够抑制植物病原微生物的生长 ,对改善植物营养、促进植物生长具有很好的作用 ,同时假单胞菌还能够对土壤中的有毒物质进行降解 ,可以作为一种理想的植物微生态制剂生产菌种进行开发     

Earthworms can modify effects of hydrochar on growth of Plantago lanceolata and performance of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi

Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) is a method to produce carbonized material at relatively low temperatures (180–250 °C) under pressure and aqueous conditions. The product is called hydrochar and can be used as a soil amendment. However, applied in high dosages it may have detrimental effects on plants or soil biota. The potential impact of hydrochar amendment on beneficial soil organisms such as arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and earthworms and their interactions are not well understood. The goal of the present study was to determine effects of hydrochar on plant growth and soil biota and to evaluate interactions of earthworms and hydrochar on plant and AMF performance and to identify underlying mechanisms. In a greenhouse experiment, we investigated the effect of hydrochar at different addition rates (control, 1% and 10%, v/v) with or without the earthworm Aporrectodea caliginosa on the growth of Plantago lanceolata L. and the performance of its AMF. We observed a positive interaction between earthworms and 10% hydrochar on shoot and root biomass: added as a single treatment hydrochar had a negative effect on plant growth at this dosage, but plant biomass increased significantly when hydrochar was added together with earthworms. Root colonization by AMF increased significantly with increasing concentration of hydrochar, but was not affected by earthworms. Contrastingly, extraradical hyphal length of AMF was reduced by earthworms, but not affected by hydrochar. Thus, hydrochar and earthworms affected the performance of AMF, albeit of different AMF structures and in different directions. Our results indicate that earthworms may play an important role in alleviating the negative impacts of high dosages of hydrochar on plant growth; such interactions should move into focus of future research on potential effects of HTC materials.