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Root exudates from weedy ryegrass hybrid type and selected crop plants affect soil microbial communities in two soil types of the Western Cape, South Africa

Michael Ignatius Ferreira, Anélia Marais, Alfred Botha, Carl Frederick Reinhardt, Marieta van der Rijst

Article ID: 2378
Vol 4, Issue 2, 2023

VIEWS - 99 (Abstract)

Abstract

All growing plant roots have the ability to produce root exudates to which soil microbes are attracted. The objective of this study was to utilise the Biolog EcoPlate™ system to indicate the impact of soil type on soil microbial communities in the rhizosphere following treatment with pot leachates that contain various plant root exudates. A greenhouse experiment was conducted during 2021 and repeated in 2022 from May until July (southern hemisphere) in this winter rainfall area with Mediterranean climatic conditions. This ensured that natural daylight hours in the greenhouse coincided with those experienced in the field by winter growing crops, from seeding until maturity (May to October). Pot leachate that contained various plant root exudates from six donor plant species (wheat, barley, two lupine cultivars, ryegrass pasture type and weedy ryegrass hybrid type) was utilised as treatment of respective recipient pots, in which wheat (Triticum aestivum v. SST 027) was grown as a test plant. Recipient plants were grown in two sets of pots each with two different soil types. Soil samples from recipient pots were used to inoculate the Biolog EcoPlate™ system and the carbon utilisation patterns obtained in this process were compared to the soil microbial populations present in the soil samples collected prior to treatments. Pot leachate treatment effects on the two soil types differed. Similarly, the treatments had differential effects on the measured soil microbial populations of the recipient wheat plants. Results indicate that the pattern of substrate utilisation by the Biolog EcoPlate™ methodology indicates changes in the number of colony forming units in the soil. In this regard, it was clear that ryegrass pasture variety and weedy ryegrass hybrid type caused similar effects on the soil bacteria communities in the rhizosphere. It is concluded that the primary impact of soil type is distinct microbial communities as an important factor regulating plant and plant-microbe synergy. Secondly, due to the strong selective forces root exudates have on the soil microbiome, conspicuous microbial communities in the rhizosphere of each plant species will continue to develop over time.

Keywords

Biolog EcoPlate™ system; microbiome; pot leachate; rhizosphere; soil microbes

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.54517/ama.v4i2.2378
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