Characteristics of the rhizosphere microbial communities of different saline- tolerant mulberry varieties

[ Objective ]Mulberry is a commom crop with different varieties of resistance. Understanding the differences in rhizosphere soil microbial community characteristics among different salt-tolerant mulberry varieties in saline soils is important for the rational development and utilization of coastal saline soils. [ Methods ]This study focused on two mulberry varieties, the salt-tolerant variety Guoxuan3 (GX3) and the salt-sensitive variety A18, both of which were planted in coastal saline soils of Zhejiang Province. Idle soil without cultivated plants was used as a control. The differences in the physicochemical properties and soil microbial diversity of the different salt-tolerant varieties were analyzed via high-throughput sequencing technology. [ Results ]The results revealed 1,236 bacterial OTUs and 396 fungal OTUs were identified from the mulberry rhizosphere soil samples. The dominant bacteria in the mulberry rhizosphere soil were Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria, while the dominant fungi were Ascomycota and Basidiomycota. There were significant differences in the relative abundance of Verrucomicrobiota, Nitrospirota, Dependentiae, and Calcarisporiellomycota in the rhizosphere microbial composition of the two mulberry varieties. Notably, Rozellomycota was specifically enriched in the rhizosphere soil of GX3. [ Conclusion ]The microbial community composition and structure of rhizosphere soil differ significantly between salt-sensitive and salt-tolerant mulberry varieties. The planting of GX3 in coastal saline soils had the most substantial improvement effect. Nocardioides , Aspergillus , and Fusicolla were significantly enriched in the rhizosphere of GX3. The soil salt content and total nitrogen content in the mulberry rhizosphere are likely the main factors influencing microbial community composition.