Effects of rhizosphere microbiome on the fruit of Cinnamomum migao H. W. Li: culture, amplicon sequencing, and metagenomic sequencing

Cinnamomum migao H. W. Li is an evergreen tree belonging to the Lauraceae family and is endemic to China. Previous studies have found that the rhizosphere microbiome associated with the C. migao wild population plays an essential role in the production of fruit chemical components. However, it remains unknown whether the rhizosphere microbiome affects the production of fruit chemical compounds in cultivated C. migao population. Herein, we studied a 10-year-old fruit-bearing population of C. migao and used techniques such as culturing, amplicon sequencing, and metagenomic sequencing to explore the changes in the rhizosphere microbial community structure over three periods. Meanwhile, the molecular ecological network of the rhizosphere microbiome was constructed based on random matrix theory. The unidentified species were found to belong to fungi and Capnodiales. Sphingomonas sp. mm-1 and Streptomyces scabiei in network hubs were recognized in over three fruiting periods. Further, four network hubs were significantly related to fruit chemical compounds production in C. migao . The higher the number of species annotated, the better the explanation for fruit chemical compounds production in C. migao . The rhizosphere microbiome was found to exert a synergistic effect by increasing fruit chemical component production in C. migao . This was evinced through KEGG analysis, which revealed the different metabolic activities affected by the rhizosphere microbiome. This study revealed the potential ways and putative keystone taxa of rhizosphere microbiome affecting fruit component production in C. migao , which opens up new opportunities for further manipulation and development of the rhizosphere microbiome to promote plant productivity.