Varieties of Lettuce Forming Distinct Microbial Communities Inhabiting Roots and Rhizospheres with Various Responses to Osmotic Stress

Abstract

A plant microbiome is an important factor in plant growth, stress resistance, health status, and consumer quality and safety. The rhizosphere microbiome evolves in a negotiation between microbial communities that inhabit soil and plant root tissue. In this study, the rhizosphere and root internal tissue microbiome of six varieties of lettuce were analyzed in normal conditions and under salinity stress. The metabarcoding analysis used 16S rRNA gene and ITS2 region sequencing. The microbiomes of root samples were significantly less diverse with different members of the community compared to those of the rhizosphere. A significant effect of lettuce variety was found on the diversity index for bacteria and fungi. Varieties formed very different communities of bacteria in roots. Pseudomonas, Herbaspirillum, Mycobacterium, potentially pathogenic Enterobacter, and other genera were more prevalent in certain varieties. Salinity stress had a significant negative impact on bacterial diversity and community composition, whereas the diversity of fungi has not changed significantly, and the fungal community has changed less than the bacterial one. Changes were more evident in varieties that were more resistant to salinity stress than in sensitive varieties.