论文题目：Deterministic assembly of rhizosphere bacterial community enables predictable and stable suppression of Verticillium wilt via microbial homeostasis
论文作者：Jiamin Ai, Jiangying Huang, Chenyuan Wang, Xinrui Wang, Yiduo Zhao, Gehong Wei, Zhefei Li
论文摘要：The rhizosphere microbiota plays essential roles in maintaining normal physiological function and preventing disease in plants. However, the mechanisms by which soil-borne pathogens break through the microbial defense line in the rhizosphere to infect the host are not well understood.
In this study, we observed that the relative abundance of Verticillium dahliae does not significantly differ between healthy and diseased rhizospheres, but the root-associated microbial community structure changes substantially. The invasion of pathogens shifts the assembly process of the microbial community from deterministic to stochastic, making it difficult to predict the disease resistance function of the rhizosphere microbial community. An increase in stochasticity promotes the rapid proliferation of opportunistic bacteria, which deplete carbon sources, disrupt the balance of the original microbial community, and reduce network stability. Consequently, the depletion of beneficial microbes leads to rhizosphere dysbiosis, while fungal pathogenic allies gain a competitive advantage, thereby facilitating the progression of Verticillium wilt. These results are further validated by constructing synthetic microbial communities (SynComs) using strains enriched in different ecological processes. Healthy plants maintain their health by recruiting beneficial microorganisms through deterministic processes. Moreover, the disease-suppressive efficacy of SynComs governed by deterministic processes was less affected by inoculation timing or concentration, making their functional outcomes more predictable. In contrast, the disease resistance levels of SynComs governed by stochastic processes are more sensitive to inoculation timing and concentration, making their function more unpredictable. Overall, our findings emphasize the potential of SynComs designed according to community assembly principles to combat soil-borne diseases, with deterministically assembled SynComs providing more durable disease resistance than stochastically assembled ones.
根际微生物在维持植物正常生理功能和预防病害方面发挥着关键作用。然而，土传病原菌如何突破根际微生物防御屏障感染宿主的机制尚不完全清楚。本研究发现，健康与发病黄芪根际大丽轮枝菌的相对丰度无差异，但根际微生物群落结构发生显著变化。病原菌入侵使微生物群落的构建过程由确定性转变为随机性，导致根际微生物群落的抗病功能发生变化。随机过程增加会促进机会致病细菌的迅速增殖，这些细菌会快速消耗碳源、破坏原有微生物群落的平衡并降低网络稳定性。随之有益微生物类群的减少会导致根际菌群失调，而真菌病原盟友则获得竞争优势，从而促进了黄芪黄萎病的快速发展。随后利用不同生态过程富集的菌株构建合成微生物菌群验证了以上分析结果。健康植物通过确定性过程招募有益的微生物来维持其健康。此外，根据确定性过程构建的合成菌群抑病效果受接种时间或浓度影响较小，使其抗病功能具有较好预测性。相比之下，依据随机过程构建的合成菌群抗病效果对接种时间和浓度更敏感，使其抗病功能难以预测。总的来说，我们的研究结果表明根据微生物群落组装机制设计的合成菌群在抵御土传病害方面的潜力，按照确定性过程构建的合成菌群比随机组装的合成菌群提供了更持久的抗病性。
论文链接：https://doi.org/10.1186/s40168-026-02432-7