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. 2023 Apr 27;12(5):663.
doi: 10.3390/biology12050663.

Influence of Grafting on Rootstock Rhizosphere Microbiome Assembly in Rosa sp. 'Natal Brier'

Dario X Ramirez-Villacis  1   2 , Pablo Erazo-Garcia  1 , Juan Quijia-Pillajo  3 , Sol Llerena-Llerena  1 , Noelia Barriga-Medina  1 , Corbin D Jones  2 , Antonio Leon-Reyes  1   2
Affiliations

Influence of Grafting on Rootstock Rhizosphere Microbiome Assembly in Rosa sp. 'Natal Brier'

Dario X Ramirez-Villacis et al. Biology (Basel). .

Abstract

The root microbiome is vital in plant development and health and is highly influenced by crop cultural practices. Rose (Rosa sp.) is the most popular cut flower worldwide. Grafting in rose production is a standard practice to increase yield, improve flower quality, or reduce root-associated pests and diseases. 'Natal Brier' is a standard rootstock used in most commercial operations in Ecuador and Colombia, leading countries in producing and exporting ornamentals. It is known that the rose scion genotype affects root biomass and the root exudate profile of grafted plants. However, little is known about the influence of the rose scion genotype on the rhizosphere microbiome. We examined the influence of grafting and scion genotype on the rhizosphere microbiome of the rootstock 'Natal Brier'. The microbiomes of the non-grafted rootstock and the rootstock grafted with two red rose cultivars were assessed using 16S rRNA and ITS sequencing. Grafting changed microbial community structure and function. Further, analysis of grafted plant samples revealed that the scion genotype highly influences the rootstock microbiome. Under the presented experimental conditions, the rootstock 'Natal Brier' core microbiome consisted of 16 bacterial and 40 fungal taxa. Our results highlight that the scion genotype influences root microbe's recruitment, which might also influence the functionality of assembled microbiomes.

Keywords: ExplorerTM; FreedomTM; Natal Brier; Rosa spp.; grafting; microbiome; rhizosphere; rootstock; rose; scion.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Rosa sp. ‘Explorer’ grafted onto ‘Natal Brier’ (NB) rootstock; the rootstock shoot is bent and blooming (a). Farm in Ecuador growing Rosa sp. ‘Freedom’ grafted onto ‘Natal Brier’ rootstock (b). Blooms produced by ‘Natal Brier’ (c), ‘NB-Explorer’ (d), and ‘NB-Freedom’ (e).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Beta diversity analysis and microbiome composition of bacterial (a,b) and fungal (c,d) communities for soil and rose rhizosphere samples. Beta diversity analysis was based on the Bray–Curtis dissimilarity matrix. The differentiation observed in bacteria is much more pronounced than in fungi.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Effect of grafting on the rhizosphere microbiome composition of rootstock ‘Natal Brier’. Beta diversity analysis and microbiome composition of bacterial (a,b) and fungal (c,d) communities for grafted and non-grafted roses. Beta diversity analysis was based on the Bray–Curtis dissimilarity matrix. In both cases, the communities have clear differentiation due to grafting.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Differential abundance analysis of bacteria (a) and fungi (b) for grafted versus non-grafted roses.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Effect of grafting on the functionality of the bacterial (a) and fungal (b) rhizosphere microbiome. Beneficial functional categories are enriched as a result of grafting. Significant differences were calculated by Student t-Test: * p-value < 0.05; ** p-value < 0.01; *** p-value < 0.001.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Effect of the scion cultivar on the rhizosphere microbiome of rootstock ‘Natal Brier’. Beta diversity analysis and microbiome composition of bacterial (a,b) and fungal (c,d) communities for Natal Brier (NB)-Freedom and NB-Explorer samples. Beta diversity analysis was based on the Bray–Curtis dissimilarity matrix. There was strong differentiation among the scion cultivars.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Bacterial (a,b) and fungal (c,d) core microbiomes for rhizospheres of two red rose cultivars. The core microbiome of the rootstock is highly influenced by the scion cultivar.
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References

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