Harnessing soil microbiomes for camelina growth in low nitrogen inputs

Authors: Yin, Chuntao; BARNES, ELLE - Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; Schlatter, Daniel; TRINGE, SUSANNAH - Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; Paulitz, Timothy

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/3/2022
Publication Date: 8/4/2022
Citation: Yin, C., Barnes, E., Schlatter, D.C., Tringe, S.G., Paulitz, T.C. 2022. Harnessing soil microbiomes for camelina growth in low nitrogen inputs [abstract]. American Phytopathological Society Pacific Division Meeting, June 22-24, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1094/PHYTO-112-8-S2.22.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1094/PHYTO-112-8-S2.22

Interpretive Summary: Camelina, an oilseed crop from Brassicaceae family, has favorable agronomic traits and multiple industrial uses. Appropriate practices for increasing camelina oilseed with low nitrogen fertilization are lacking. Understanding microbial community from roots is important to optimize plant growth under various environments. This study profiled the microbiome of camelina grown in the soils collected from a range of climate zones in eastern Washington. The microbial diversity from high precipitation zone was higher than those from low precipitation zone. Further, the core microbiomes of camelina were characterized and more than 3000 bacterial colonies were isolated from the camelina rhizosphere. These isolated bacteria provide a great resource for enhancing nitrogen acquisition for camelina.

Technical Abstract: Camelina is a non-food oilseed crop and can potentially be grown in dryland wheat systems as a rotation crop. Reducing nitrogen input and increasing oilseed yield are desirable goals to upscale this crop. The microbiome impacts plant growth and nutrient uptake, but the knowledge of camelina microbiome is scare. The camelina microbiome was evaluated after camelina grew in soil collected from 33 locations across four climate zones in eastern Washington. We found that camelina roots had significantly lower bacterial and fungal alpha diversities compared to bulk and rhizosphere soils. Bacterial alpha diversity was highest in bulk soil from high precipitation zone and lowest in low precipitation zone and intermediate/high temperature zone falling between two. But the effect of climate zones on fungal communities was not observed. The bacterial and fungal cores were characterized. Notably, these microbiomes comprise a group of putative plant-growth-promoting, stress response and nitrogen cycling rhizobacteria, including Rhizobium, Caulobacter, Streptomyces, Nitrospira and Bradyrhizobium. Further, more than 3000 bacterial colonies were isolated from the camelina rhizosphere. Fifty-one unique bacterial genera were identified through sequencing 920 colonies. These isolated bacteria will be used to co-culture with camelia to further investigate the impacts of bacteria on camelina growth and oil yield in low nitrogen conditions, disease pressure and drought stress.