A tripartite bacterial-fungal-plant symbiosis in the mycorrhiza-shaped microbiome drives plant growth and mycorrhization

Zhang, Changfeng; van der Heijden, Marcel G.A.; Dodds, Bethany K.; Nguyen, Thi Bich; Spooren, Jelle; Valzano-Held, Alain; Cosme, Marco; Berendsen, Roeland L.

doi:10.1186/S40168-023-01726-4

Title

A tripartite bacterial-fungal-plant symbiosis in the mycorrhiza-shaped microbiome drives plant growth and mycorrhization

Author

Zhang, Changfeng

van der Heijden, Marcel G.A.

Dodds, Bethany K.

Nguyen, Thi Bich

Spooren, Jelle

Valzano-Held, Alain

Cosme, Marco

Berendsen, Roeland L.

Abstract

BackgroundPlant microbiomes play crucial roles in nutrient cycling and plant growth, and are shaped by a complex interplay between plants, microbes, and the environment. The role of bacteria as mediators of the 400-million-year-old partnership between the majority of land plants and, arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi is still poorly understood. Here, we test whether AM hyphae-associated bacteria influence the success of the AM symbiosis.ResultsUsing partitioned microcosms containing field soil, we discovered that AM hyphae and roots selectively assemble their own microbiome from the surrounding soil. In two independent experiments, we identified several bacterial genera, including Devosia, that are consistently enriched on AM hyphae. Subsequently, we isolated 144 pure bacterial isolates from a mycorrhiza-rich sample of extraradical hyphae and isolated Devosia sp. ZB163 as root and hyphal colonizer. We show that this AM-associated bacterium synergistically acts with mycorrhiza on the plant root to strongly promote plant growth, nitrogen uptake, and mycorrhization.ConclusionsOur results highlight that AM fungi do not function in isolation and that the plant-mycorrhiza symbiont can recruit beneficial bacteria that support the symbiosis.Aik4iJYbzAos1E2c5U4cFFVideo AbstractConclusionsOur results highlight that AM fungi do not function in isolation and that the plant-mycorrhiza symbiont can recruit beneficial bacteria that support the symbiosis.Aik4iJYbzAos1E2c5U4cFFVideo Abstract

Language

English

Source (journal)

Microbiome

Publication

2024

ISSN

2049-2618

DOI

10.1186/S40168-023-01726-4

Volume/pages

12 :1 (2024) , p. 1-21