Distribution of Core Root Microbiota of Tibetan Hulless Barley along an Altitudinal and Geographical Gradient in the Tibetan Plateau

Abstract

The Tibetan Plateau is regarded as the third pole of the earth and is one of the least explored places on the planet. Tibetan hull-less barley (Hordeum vulgare L. var. nudum) is the only cereal crop grown widely in the Tibetan Plateau as a staple food. Extensive and long-term cropping of barley may influence the soil’s chemical and biological properties, including microbial communities. However, microbiota associated with hull-less barley is largely unexplored. This study aimed to reveal the composition and diversity of bacterial and fungal communities associated with the hull-less barley at different elevations in the Tibetan Plateau. The core bacterial and fungal taxa of Tibetan hull-less barley were identified, with Bacillaceae, Blastocatellaceae, Comamonadaceae, Gemmatimonadaceae, Planococcaceae, Pyrinomonadaceae, Sphingomonadaceae, and Nitrospiraceae being the most abundant bacterial taxa and Ceratobasidiaceae, Chaetomiaceae, Cladosporiaceae, Didymellaceae, Entolomataceae, Microascaceae, Mortierellaceae, and Nectriaceae being the most abundant fungal taxa (relative abundance > 1%). Both bacterial and fungal diversities of hull-less barley were affected by altitude and soil properties such as total carbon, total nitrogen, and available phosphorus and potassium. Both bacterial and fungal diversities showed a significant negative correlation with altitude, indicating that the lower elevations provide a conducive environment for the survival and maintenance of hull-less barley-associated microbiota. Our results also suggest that the high altitude-specific microbial taxa may play an important role in the adaptation of the hull-less barley to the earth’s third pole.