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| Home > Publications database > Linking root carbon partitioning to inter-kingdom microbial variation in the maize rhizosphere |
| Home > Publications database > Linking root carbon partitioning to inter-kingdom microbial variation in the maize rhizosphere |
| Conference Presentation (After Call) | FZJ-2022-00410 |
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2021
Abstract: As much as 20% of a crop’s photosynthetically fixed carbon is transported belowground where it is used for root growth, respirated or released into the rhizosphere. The excretion of plant derived carbon compounds into the rhizosphere is a substantial source of soil organic carbon. It supports the development of rhizosphere microorganisms and can thereby benefit plant performance. Meanwhile, little is known about the temporal and spatial distribution patterns of recently fixed carbon in roots and how it links to the rhizosphere microbial community structure. To address this point, we employed a combination of the two non-invasive imaging techniques magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) to visualize root carbon allocation over time. MRI allows 3D monitoring of root growth in soil, while PET uses the short-lived radioactive 11CO2 to trace recently fixed carbon within the root system. Maize plants were grown in a sandy loam for three weeks. Roots were scanned using MRI and PET at day 6, 13 and 21 after sowing. Monitoring of root growth and tracer allocation revealed an increased accumulation of recently assimilated carbon at root tips, particularly at young crown root tips. On day 21 after sowing, image-guided sampling based on co-registration of PET and MRI scans allowed us to sample the rhizosphere at high spatial resolution, whilst targeting areas with distinct patterns of recently assimilated carbon. We furthermore distinguished between all relevant root types and age classes to document small-scale differences in microbial community structure. Amplicon sequencing revealed that the community composition of bacteria, fungi and protists was significantly influenced by both, root carbon partitioning and the associated root type. During the congress, findings of bacterial, fungal and protist community analysis will be discussed, along with the associated tracer allocation patterns obtained by MRI/PET.
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