Effects of phyllospheric microorganisms on litter decomposition of Pinus massoniana

doi:10.17521/cjpe.2022.0124

Abstract

Abstract:

Aims As the first colonizer of leaf litters, the phyllospheric microbes may directly participate in the decomposition of litters.
Methods To test this hypothesis, the diversity of phyllospheric microbes and their effects in needle litter decomposition of Pinus massoniana were investigated by employing high-throughput amplicon sequencing techniques and indoor decomposition experiments.
Important findings (1) There are abundant and diverse microbial communities in the phyllospheric microbes of P. massoniana, and the microbial communities changed rapidly along with needle senescence. A large number of shared operational taxonomic units were detected among samples of mature needles, litter needles, and decomposing needles. (2) The decomposition process of P. massoniana needles can be divided into two stages: the rapid decomposition period (the first 8 months) and the slow decomposition period (after 8 months). Phyllospheric microbes of the senesced needles (fallen but not in contact with the soil) could decompose needle litters, and the decomposition rates exhibited the trend of phyllospheric microbes + soil microbes treatment > phyllospheric microbes treatment > soil microorganism treatment. There are synergistic effects between phyllospheric microbes and soil microbes during the decomposition of P. massoniana needles. (3) The decomposition rate of needle litters was significantly positively correlated with those of lignin and cellulose, while not correlated with the activity of lignin or cellulose decomposing enzymes. For ligninolytic enzymes, the activity of polyphenol oxidase had a significantly negative correlation with peroxidase activity. Meanwhile, activity of ligninolytic enzyme β-glucosidase had a significantly positive correlation with cellobiohydrolase activity. In conclusion, the present results indicate that the phyllospheric microbes can directly participate in the decomposition of needle litters, and its effect on the decomposition rate of needle litters of P. massoniana is superior to that of the soil microbes. These results have advanced the litter decomposition theory and provided theoretical foundation for further investigation into the core microbiome participating in litter decomposition.

Key words: Pinus massoniana, litters, phyllospheric microbes, soil microbes, decomposition

ZHENG Yang, SUN Xue-Guang, XIONG Yang-Yang, YUAN Gui-Yun, DING Gui-Jie. Effects of phyllospheric microorganisms on litter decomposition of Pinus massoniana[J]. Chin J Plant Ecol, 2023, 47(5): 687-698.

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URL: https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/10.17521/cjpe.2022.0124

https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/Y2023/V47/I5/687

Figures/Tables 6

Fig. 1 Distribution of dominant orders of bacteria (A) and fungi (B) in different needle samples of Pinus massoniana. F, L, NM represent the needles of decomposition layer, litter, mature, respectively.

Fig. 2 Venn diagram of littered needles (L), mature needles (NM), and decomposed needles (F) of Pinus massoniana. Arabic numbers represent the number of operational taxonomic units.

Fig. 3 Morphological changes of Pinus massoniana needles at different decomposition stages. A-D show the surface morphologies of needles in N+S treatment after 2, 4, 8 and 12 months, respectively. E-H show the anatomical structures of needles in N+S treatment after 2, 4, 8 and 12 months, respectively; A1-D1 show the surface morphologies of needles in N+SS treatment after 2, 4, 8 and 12 months, respectively. E1-H1 show the anatomical structures of needles in N+SS treatment after 2, 4, 8 and 12 months, respectively; A2-D2 show the surface morphologies of needles in SN+S treatment after 2, 4, 8 and 12 months, respectively. E2-H2 show the anatomical structures of needles in SN+S treatment after 2, 4, 8 and 12 months, respectively.N+S、N+SS、SN+S represent the phyllospheric microbes + soil microbes treatment, the phyllospheric microbes treatment and the soil microorganism treatment, respectively. Scale bars = 50 μm.

Fig. 4 Decomposition of Pinus massoniana leaf litter under different treatments (mean ± SD). N+S、N+SS、SN+S represent the phyllospheric microbes + soil microbes treatment, the phyllospheric microbes treatment and the soil microorganism treatment, respectively. Different uppercase letters represent significant differences among different treatments at the same time point, and different lowercase letters represent significant differences among the same treatment at different time points (p < 0.05).

Fig. 5 Enzyme activity of Pinus massoniana leaf litter (mean ± SD). N+S, N+SS and SN+S represent treatment groups of phyllospheric microorganisms + soil microorganisms, phyllospheric microorganisms and soil microorganisms, respectively. Different uppercase letters represent significant differences among different treatments at the same time point, and different lowercase letters represent significant differences among the same treatment at different time points (p < 0.05).

Table 1 Correlation analysis of different indicators of Pinus massoniana leaf litter

	针叶质量损失率 Mass loss rate of needles	多酚氧化酶活性 Polyphenol oxidase activity	过氧化物酶活性 Peroxidase activity	β葡萄糖苷酶活性 β glucosidase activity	纤维二糖苷酶活性 Fibrodisosidase activity	木质素质量损失率 Mass loss rate of lignin	纤维素质量损失率 Mass loss rate of cellulose
针叶质量损失率 Mass loss rate of needles	1.000
多酚氧化酶活性 Polyphenol oxidase activity	0.051	1.000
过氧化物酶活性 Peroxidase activity	-0.013	-0.368^**	1.000
β葡萄糖苷酶活性 β glucosidase activity	-0.089	-0.354^**	0.314^**	1.000
纤维二糖苷酶活性 Fibrodisosidase activity	-0.107	-0.016	0.148	0.462^**	1.000
木质素质量损失率 Mass loss rate of lignin	0.868^**	0.094	-0.025	-0.077	-0.187	1.000
纤维素质量损失率 Mass loss rate of cellulose	0.455^**	0.060	0.114	-0.145	-0.208^*	0.442^**	1.000

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