Deciphering diverse colonization patterns of plastisphere generalists and specialists in greenhouse soils

Abstract

Studies on the plastisphere mainly focus on the overall microbial community, neglecting the nuanced difference of its generalist and specialist subcommunities. To elucidate the intricacies of these subcommunities, we analyzed plastic films residues from greenhouse soils. The results revealed that the plastisphere influenced alpha-diversities of bacterial and fungal generalist subcommunities but not their specialist subcommunities. Stochastic processes governed the assembly of bacterial and fungal generalist and specialist subcommunities in plastisphere and surrounding soil, with the plastisphere intensifying the role of stochastic process, particularly in the assembly of generalist subcommunities. Furthermore, the species dispersal of bacterial and fungal generalist and specialist subcommunities was more extensive within plastisphere than in surrounding soil; however, in the biotic networks, the node ratio of bacterial and fungal specialists decreased in plastisphere compared to surrounding soils. Furthermore, the plastisphere diminished the significance of both generalists and specialists in sustaining network stability based on the topological parameters. Plastisphere induced significant enrichment of fungal pathogens, suggesting that plastic film may pose risk to plant performance and soil health. These results broaden our understanding of how plastisphere-induced interference affects generalist and specialist microorganisms, potentially highlighting the need for improved residue management to sustain ecosystem health and function.