Fig. 5: Rhizosheath size-associated microbiome influences maize growth and N2O emissions through functional feedback in nitrogen-poor soil.
From: Rhizosheath inhabiting Massilia are linked to heterosis in roots of maize
a Shoot growth performance of different genotypes under different rhizosheath-size in nitrogen-poor soil. In the first panel, bars are colored differently to indicate three recipient genotypes and their F1-hybrids. In the second and third panels, bar colors represent transplantation with rhizosheath from Ky228 (green) and R109B (orange), respectively, for consistent visual reference. Significant differences at p < 0.05 among different genotypes are indicated by the exact p values (ANOVA, Tukey’s HSD, two-sided). b Rhizosheath size of different genotypes in nitrogen-poor soil. Significant differences at p < 0.05 among different genotypes are indicated by the exact p values (ANOVA, Bonferroni’s HSD, two-sided). a, b n = 4 biologically independent samples. Data are mean ± SEM. c Effects of maize genotypes on the relative abundance of bacterial genera in the rhizosphere. n = 4 biologically independent samples. Boxes span from the first to the third quartiles, center lines represent the median values and whiskers show data lying within 1.5× the interquartile range of the lower and upper quartiles. Data points at the ends of whiskers represent outliers. Significant differences at p < 0.05 among different genotypes are indicated by the exact p values (ANOVA, Tukey’s HSD, two-sided). d Abundance heat map of functional genes significantly differing among groups, as determined by the Kruskal–Wallis rank-sum test. Functional genes with p value < 0.05 in rank sum test are shown in the heat map. Correlation between rhizosheath size and relative abundance of Massilia (e) and N2O flux (f) in nitrogen-poor soil. g Correlation between relative abundance of Massilia and N2O flux in nitrogen-poor soil. e–g Scatter plot with best-fit regression line (black solid) and 95% confidence interval (gray shading, two-sided Pearson correlation). The regression line represents the measure of center, and the gray shading indicates the error band (95% confidence interval of the regression fit). n = 4 biologically independent samples for each genotype.
