Drought-induced plant microbiome and metabolic enrichments improve drought resistance

Jiayu Li¹, Hongwei Liu², Juntao Wang³, Catriona A Macdonald¹, Pankaj Singh⁴, Vu Thanh Cong⁵, Marcus Klein¹, Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo⁶, Brajesh K Singh⁷

Affiliations

¹ Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia.
² Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia; College of Agro-grassland Science, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China.
³ Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia; Global Centre for Land-Based Innovation, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia; School of Science, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia.
⁴ Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia; School of Agriculture and Environment, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6009, Australia; The UWA Institute of Agriculture, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6009, Australia.
⁵ NanoSoils Bio Pty Ltd, Sydney, NSW 2033, Australia.
⁶ Laboratorio de Biodiversidad y Funcionamiento Ecosistémico, Instituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiología de Sevilla (IRNAS), CSIC, Seville, Spain.
⁷ Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia. Electronic address: b.singh@westernsydney.edu.au.

PMID: 40446806
DOI: 10.1016/j.chom.2025.05.002

Drought-induced plant microbiome and metabolic enrichments improve drought resistance

Jiayu Li et al. Cell Host Microbe. 2025.

. 2025 Jun 11;33(6):882-900.e7.

doi: 10.1016/j.chom.2025.05.002. Epub 2025 May 29.

Authors

Jiayu Li¹, Hongwei Liu², Juntao Wang³, Catriona A Macdonald¹, Pankaj Singh⁴, Vu Thanh Cong⁵, Marcus Klein¹, Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo⁶, Brajesh K Singh⁷

Affiliations

¹ Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia.
² Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia; College of Agro-grassland Science, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China.
³ Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia; Global Centre for Land-Based Innovation, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia; School of Science, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia.
⁴ Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia; School of Agriculture and Environment, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6009, Australia; The UWA Institute of Agriculture, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6009, Australia.
⁵ NanoSoils Bio Pty Ltd, Sydney, NSW 2033, Australia.
⁶ Laboratorio de Biodiversidad y Funcionamiento Ecosistémico, Instituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiología de Sevilla (IRNAS), CSIC, Seville, Spain.
⁷ Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia. Electronic address: b.singh@westernsydney.edu.au.

PMID: 40446806
DOI: 10.1016/j.chom.2025.05.002

Abstract

Plant-microbiome interactions are crucial in maintaining plant health and productivity under stress; however, little is known about these interactions under drought. Here, using wheat as a model, we combine genomics and culture-dependent methods to investigate the interactions between the soil, root, and rhizosphere microbiomes with rhizosphere metabolomes and plant phenotypes. We find that drought conditions promote microbial colonization in plant microbiomes, enriching Streptomyces coeruleorubidus and Leifsonia shinshuensis, while also increasing 4-oxoproline levels in the rhizosphere, potentially attracting S. coeruleorubidus. Consistently, genes facilitating microbial responses to drought, including the N-terminal acetyltransferase rimJ, are enriched, while S. coeruleorubidus and L. shinshuensis reintroduction promotes host drought resistance. Drought-legacy-effect experiments further support these benefits, with increased plant biomass and yield in the subsequent growth cycle under drought. Collectively, this study informs how drought-induced microbial and metabolite enrichments improve plant adaptation to abiotic stresses, potentially informing development of bio-based tools to mitigate drought effects. VIDEO ABSTRACT.

Keywords: 4-oxoproline; Streptomyces; drought resistance; host adaptation; legacy effects; metabolites; plant microbiomes; wheat.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of interests The authors declare no competing interests.

MeSH terms

Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions

Save citation to file

Email citation

Add to Collections

Add to My Bibliography

Your saved search

Create a file for external citation management software

Your RSS Feed

Drought-induced plant microbiome and metabolic enrichments improve drought resistance

Affiliations

Drought-induced plant microbiome and metabolic enrichments improve drought resistance

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

MeSH terms