Soil microorganisms “remember” drought to protect crops

New research from the University of Kansas (USA) published in the journal Nature Microbiology shows that microorganisms in the soil have the ability to "remember" past droughts, thereby affecting the way plants grow and adapt to dry environments.

The team collected soil samples from six different locations in Kansas – spanning the humid eastern region to the dry western plains – to study how microbial “drought memory” affects plants.

They then compared two groups of soils: one that had been kept well-moistened, and the other that had been subjected to a five-month drought.

“Bacteria, fungi and other organisms in the soil can have lasting impacts, such as affecting nutrient uptake, carbon storage and especially drought tolerance of plants,” said Associate Professor Maggie Wagner, University of Kansas.

The results showed that the drought signature remained in the microbial community even after thousands of generations. When plants were grown in these soil samples, the team found that native plants responded much more strongly than agricultural crops like corn, suggesting a long-term evolutionary link between native plants and the local microbiome.

In the experiment, the team compared a native grass species—gamagrass—with corn. The gamagrass grew significantly better when surrounded by microbes that had “drought memory,” while the corn responded less well.

“We think this has to do with coevolutionary history: gamagrass has lived with these microbial communities for thousands of years, while maize was introduced from Central America,” explains Wagner.

Further genetic analysis revealed that a gene called nicotianamine synthase plays a key role. This gene helps plants absorb iron from the soil and also enhances drought tolerance.

Remarkably, the plants only activated this gene when grown with microorganisms that had a “memory” of drought conditions – suggesting that the plant’s biological response depends on microbial memory.

According to the research team, this discovery could help biotechnology companies find beneficial microorganisms to improve crop resilience to climate change.

“The agricultural microbial industry is growing rapidly and is worth billions of dollars. These new insights can guide the selection of appropriate microbial communities,” concluded Ms. Wagner./.

(TTXVN/Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/vi-sinh-vat-trong-dat-ghi-nho-han-han-de-bao-ve-cay-trong-post1074515.vnp