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Contributed Poster

Session: Mutualism And Facilitation

PS 12-167 - Effect of nitrogen fertilizer and reduced watering on the succession of fungal community and function

Monday, August 7, 2023
5:00 PM – 6:30 PM PDT
Location: ESA Exhibit Hall

    Presenting Author(s)

  • Busayo Joshua Babalola

    Postdoctoral Researcher
    Department of Plant Biology and Plant Pathology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, 30602, USA
    Athens, Georgia, United States

    • Coauthor(s)

  • YW

    Yong-Long Wang

    Faculty of Biological Science and Technology, Baotou Teacher’s College, Baotou, Inner Mongolia, 014030 China, China (People's Republic)

  • YZ

    Yong Zheng

    Key Laboratory for Humid Subtropical Eco-geographical Processes of the Ministry of Education, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, 350007 China, China (People's Republic)

  • Cw

    Claire willing

    Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305 USA, United States

  • MI

    Muhammed M. Ibrahim

    Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences
    Guangzhou, China (People's Republic)

  • CG

    Cheng Gao

    State Key Laboratory of Mycology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101 China, China (People's Republic)

  • LG

    Liang-Dong Guo

    State Key Laboratory of Mycology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101 China, China (People's Republic)

Abstract: Root microbiomes play an important role in shaping plant nutrition, development, and immunity. Consequently, declined agricultural output due to environmental perturbations, such as drought and nitrogen (N) deposition, has prompted substantial research into how root microbiome might shift in response to such perturbations. However, still relatively little is known about the impact of nitrogen (N) enrichment or water-deficit on fungal successional dynamics or how shifts in these communities may impact their function.

We examined the effect of N fertilization and reduced watering on the temporal dynamics of fungi and soil enzyme activities across the life cycle of wheat. We tested three hypotheses: (H1) N fertilization and decreased watering reduce fungal richness and alter community composition by decreasing the relative abundance of Glomeromycota and increasing that of Ascomycota (H2) N fertilization and decreased watering disrupt typical fungal successional patterns; (H3) N fertilization and decreased watering increase soil enzyme activity.

Nitrogen fertilization significantly influenced the fungal community in soil and roots regardless of watering conditions. The relative abundance of Ascomycota increased with the N fertilization but did not affect the relative abundance of Glomeromycota, whereas the relative abundance of Basidiomycota, Olpidiomycota and Mucoromycota decreased with the nitrogen fertilization in roots and soil. Interestingly though, despite shifts in fungal richness and composition, fungal successional patterns appeared to be quite robust and were not impacted by either N fertilization or reduced watering. Nitrogen fertilisation significantly increased β-1,4-glucosidase, alkaline phosphatase, leucine aminopeptidase, and urease under both watering treatments, however the shifts observed in soil enzyme production remained relatively stable across time with nitrogen fertilization and reduced water-availability.

Ultimately, our results demonstrate that N fertilization influenced fungal community composition and functions, but fungal communities demonstrate robust patterns of succession, even when initial fungal communities are impacted by N fertilization.