Acidification suppresses the natural capacity of soil microbiome to fight pathogenic Fusarium infections

Summary

This Nature Communications study demonstrates that soil acidification significantly impairs the natural disease-suppressive capacity of soil microbiomes against the globally important pathogen Fusarium. Through integrated field observations and controlled experiments, the authors reveal that acidification alters bacterial communities and down-regulates genes involved in sulfur metabolism, ultimately reducing the microbiome's ability to protect plants from pathogenic infection. These findings underscore the importance of soil pH management for maintaining soil health and plant disease resilience.

UK applicability

The findings are relevant to UK agriculture given widespread soil acidification in intensive cropping systems and organic soils. Understanding how pH management influences disease suppression capacity could inform best management practices for reducing fungal disease pressure, particularly in cereal and horticultural production systems where Fusarium poses significant economic threats.

Key measures

Soil pH, bacterial community structure, Fusarium suppression capacity in vitro, plant health outcomes following pathogen inoculation, gene expression related to sulfur compound synthesis, metabolic traits associated with sulfur metabolism

Outcomes reported

The study measured the impact of soil acidification on bacterial community composition and the soil microbiome's capacity to suppress Fusarium infections through field surveys, in vitro assays, plant inoculation experiments, metagenome sequencing, and metabolomic analysis. Key findings include reduced pathogen suppression in acidified soils, disrupted sulfur metabolism gene expression, and diminished plant resistance to pathogen invasion when inoculated with acidified soil microbiomes.

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