The Effect of Salt-Tolerant Antagonistic Bacteria CZ-6 on the Rhizosphere Microbial Community of Winter Jujube (Ziziphus jujuba Mill. “Dongzao”) in Saline-Alkali Land

Abstract

As the main economic crop cultivated in the Yellow River Delta, winter jujube contains various nutrients. However, soil salinization and fungal diseases have affected the yield and quality of winter jujube. In order to use plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) to reduce these damages, the antagonistic bacteria CZ-6 isolated from the rhizosphere of wheat in saline soil was selected for experiment. Gene sequencing analysis identified CZ-6 as Bacillus amyloliquefaciens. In order to understand the salt tolerant and disease-resistant effects of CZ-6 strain, determination of related indicators of salt tolerance, pathogen antagonistic tests, and anti-fungal mechanism analyses was carried out. A pot experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of CZ-6 inoculation on the rhizosphere microbial community of winter jujube. The salt tolerance test showed that CZ-6 strain can survive in a medium with a NaCl concentration of 10% and produces indole acetic acid (IAA) and 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) deaminase. Studies on the inhibition mechanism of pathogenic fungi show that CZ-6 can secrete cellulase, protease, and xylanase. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis showed that CZ-6 can release volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including 2-heptanone and 2-nonanone. In addition, the strain can colonize the rhizosphere and migrate to the roots, stems, and leaves of winter jujube, which is essential for plant growth or defense against pathogens. Illumina MiSeq sequencing data indicated that, compared to the control, the abundance of salt-tolerant bacteria Tausonia in the CZ-6 strain treatment group was significantly increased, while the richness of Chaetomium and Gibberella pathogens was significantly reduced. Our research shows that CZ-6 has the potential as a biological control agent in saline soil. Plant damage and economic losses caused by pathogenic fungi and salt stress are expected to be alleviated by the addition of salt-tolerant antagonistic bacteria.