Abstract
Abstract Background Plants sustain intimate relationships with diverse microbes. It is well-recognized that these plant-associated microbiota shape individual performance and fitness of host plants, but much remains to be explored regarding how they exert their function and maintain their homeostasis. Results Here, using pink lady ( Heterotis rotundifolia ) as a study plant, we investigated the phenomenon of microbiota-mediated nitrogen fixation and elucidated how this process is steadily maintained in the root mucilage microhabitat. Metabolite and microbiota profiling showed that the aerial root mucilage is enriched in carbohydrates and diazotrophic bacteria. Nitrogen isotope-labeling experiments, 15 N natural abundance, and gene expression analysis indicated that the aerial root-mucilage microbiota could fix atmospheric nitrogen to support plant growth. While the aerial root mucilage is a hotspot of nutrients, we did not observe high abundance of other environmental and pathogenic microbes inside. We further identified a fungus isolate in mucilage that has shown broad-spectrum antimicrobial activities, but solely allows the growth of diazotrophic bacteria. This “friendly” fungus may be the key driver to maintain nitrogen fixation function in the mucilage microhabitat. Conclusion The discovery of new biological function and mucilage-habitat friendly fungi provides insights into microbial homeostasis maintenance of microenvironmental function and rhizosphere ecology.
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Claims 7
Claim · model-written summary
Aerial-root mucilage was enriched in carbohydrates.
- Taxon
- Heterotis rotundifolia
Heterotis rotundifoliae1 - Organ / stage
- aerial root mucilagee0
- Outcome
- carbohydratese0
- Direction
- enriched ine0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Metabolite and microbiota profiling showed that the aerial root mucilage is enriched in carbohydrates and diazotrophic bacteria.”
e1“using pink lady ( Heterotis rotundifolia ) as a study plant”
Claim · model-written summary
Aerial-root mucilage was enriched in diazotrophic bacteria.
- Taxon
- Heterotis rotundifoliaHeterotis rotundifoliae1
- Organ / stage
- aerial root mucilagee0
- Interactor
- diazotrophic bacteriae0symbiont
- Outcome
- diazotrophic bacteriae0
- Direction
- enriched ine0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Metabolite and microbiota profiling showed that the aerial root mucilage is enriched in carbohydrates and diazotrophic bacteria.”
e1“using pink lady ( Heterotis rotundifolia ) as a study plant”
Claim · model-written summary
The aerial-root mucilage microbiota fixed atmospheric nitrogen and supported plant growth.
- Taxon
- Heterotis rotundifoliaHeterotis rotundifoliae1
- Interactor
- root-mucilage microbiotae0symbiont
- Outcome
- plant growthe0
- Qualifier
- fix atmospheric nitrogene0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the aerial root-mucilage microbiota could fix atmospheric nitrogen to support plant growth.”
e1“using pink lady ( Heterotis rotundifolia ) as a study plant”
Claim · model-written summary
Other environmental and pathogenic microbes were not highly abundant inside the mucilage.
- Taxon
- Heterotis rotundifoliaHeterotis rotundifoliae1
- Organ / stage
- mucilagee2
- Outcome
- abundance of other environmental and pathogenic microbese0
- Direction
- did not observe high abundancee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“we did not observe high abundance of other environmental and pathogenic microbes inside.”
e1“using pink lady ( Heterotis rotundifolia ) as a study plant”
e2“the aerial root mucilage is enriched in carbohydrates and diazotrophic bacteria.”
Claim · model-written summary
A fungus isolated from the mucilage had broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity.
Verbatim
e0“We further identified a fungus isolate in mucilage that has shown broad-spectrum antimicrobial activities, but solely allows the growth of diazotrophic bacteria.”
e1“using pink lady ( Heterotis rotundifolia ) as a study plant”
Claim · model-written summary
The mucilage fungus allowed growth of diazotrophic bacteria.
Verbatim
e0“We further identified a fungus isolate in mucilage that has shown broad-spectrum antimicrobial activities, but solely allows the growth of diazotrophic bacteria.”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors propose the fungus as a key driver of sustained mucilage nitrogen fixation.
- Taxon
- Heterotis rotundifoliaHeterotis rotundifoliae1
- Interactor
- funguse0symbiont
- Outcome
- nitrogen fixation functione0
- Qualifier
- may be the key drivere0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“This “friendly” fungus may be the key driver to maintain nitrogen fixation function in the mucilage microhabitat.”
e1“using pink lady ( Heterotis rotundifolia ) as a study plant”