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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Darryl Nelson
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Two of the major constraints to grain production in large areas of South-East Australia and cropping soils worldwide are high levels of subsoil boron (B) and excessive salinity (NaCl). Although the effect of these constraints is often studied in plants, the effect on microbially mediated plant-beneficial processes is unclear. To that end, we investigated the impact of B and NaCl on soil microbial community structure (MCS) in the wheat rhizosphere using BIOLOG ecoplates and terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP). In addition, the effects of B and NaCl on the nitrogen (N) cycle processes of N fixation and ammonia oxidation were assessed by the construction of clone libraries of diazotrophic (nifH) and ammonia oxidising (amoA) rhizobacteria. Analysis of BIOLOG plates using non-metric multidimensional scaling (MDS) revealed addition of both B and NaCl significantly changed MCS, the latter of which was also significant through the analysis of T-RFLP data. Utilisation of several chemical groups of BIOLOG substrates significantly changed in NaCl-amended soil; both B and NaCl affected utilisation of several individual substrates indicative of plant stress including serine and malic acid. A significant decrease in diversity and species richness was observed in high B rhizosphere soil. The community structure of ammonia-oxidising bacteria (AOB), all of which clustered with Nitrosospira-like sequences, did not significantly change in response to addition of B or NaCl, but addition of the latter resulted in a significant increase of diazotroph clones within the α-proteobacteria similar to Azospirillum sp. It appeared that the addition of B and NaCl to soil changed rhizosphere MCS indirectly through increased soil moisture and subtle changes in root exudate patterns, the addition of the latter producing a more distinct change through increased osmotic pressure, leading to a greater increase in rhizodeposition of nutrients, especially carbohydrates. The implications for the current study are that B and NaCl are more likely to affect rhizosphere MCS indirectly through root exudate quantity and/or quality than directly through microbial toxicity, and that plant health is a major determinant in rhizosphere MCS and normal N cycling. © 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Author(s): Nelson DR, Mele PM
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Soil Biology & Biochemistry
Year: 2007
Volume: 39
Issue: 1
Pages: 340-351
ISSN (print): 0038-0717
ISSN (electronic): 1879-3428
Publisher: Pergamon
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2006.08.004
DOI: 10.1016/j.soilbio.2006.08.004
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