Auxin signaling activated by endophytic Cross-Kingdom synthetic microbiota improves the quality of Atractylodes chinensis

IF 6.9 1区生物学 Q1 MICROBIOLOGY

Microbiological research Pub Date : 2025-08-15 DOI:10.1016/j.micres.2025.128312

Meng Tang, Xu-Ying Yao, Jia-Yan Xu, Jia-Yun Wu, Kai Sun, Chuan-Chao Dai, Fei Chen

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Abstract

Endophytes play a vital role in improving the quality of medicinal plants. Both endophytic fungi and bacteria can confer fitness benefits to medicinal plants; however, the effects of endophytic cross-kingdom synthetic microbiota on host development remain largely unexplored. In the present study, synthetic communities (SynComs) composed of endophytic fungi and/or bacteria were constructed from the medicinal plant Atractylodes chinensis using microbial culture techniques and pot experiments. The results showed that cross-kingdom SynComs comprising endophytic fungi and bacteria were more effective than single-kingdom fungal or bacterial SynComs in promoting the growth and accumulation of secondary metabolites in A. chinensis. Transcriptomic analysis further revealed that the photosynthesis and sesquiterpenoid biosynthesis pathways were upregulated by cross-kingdom SynComs. Notably, the genes related to auxin signal transduction were markedly activated. Chemical treatments, indole-3-acetic acid flux assays, and experiments using Arabidopsis thaliana mutants collectively showed that auxin signaling plays a pivotal role in mediating the enhanced growth and metabolism induced by cross-kingdom SynComs. Field experiments validated the effectiveness of cross-kingdom SynComs for improving the yield and quality of A. chinensis. This study highlights the critical role of endophytic fungi–bacteria–plant associations in promoting host fitness through auxin signaling, providing novel insights into the application of cross-kingdom SynComs in medicinal plant research.

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内生跨界合成菌群激活生长素信号提高白术品质

内生菌对药用植物品质的提高起着至关重要的作用。内生真菌和细菌都能给药用植物带来健康益处；然而，内生跨界合成微生物群对宿主发育的影响在很大程度上仍未被探索。本研究以药用植物苍术为原料，采用微生物培养技术和盆栽试验，构建了内生真菌和细菌组成的合成群落。结果表明，由内生真菌和细菌组成的跨界SynComs比单界真菌或细菌合成的SynComs更能促进金针叶次生代谢物的生长和积累。转录组学分析进一步表明，跨界SynComs上调了光合作用和倍半萜类生物合成途径。值得注意的是，与生长素信号转导相关的基因被明显激活。化学处理、吲哚-3-乙酸通量测定和拟南芥突变体实验共同表明，生长素信号在介导跨界SynComs诱导的生长和代谢增强中起关键作用。田间试验验证了跨界SynComs对提高羊草产量和品质的有效性。本研究强调了内生真菌-细菌-植物联合通过生长素信号传导促进寄主适应性的关键作用，为跨界SynComs在药用植物研究中的应用提供了新的见解。

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来源期刊

Microbiological research 生物-微生物学

CiteScore

10.90

自引率

6.00%

发文量

249

审稿时长

29 days

期刊介绍： Microbiological Research is devoted to publishing reports on prokaryotic and eukaryotic microorganisms such as yeasts, fungi, bacteria, archaea, and protozoa. Research on interactions between pathogenic microorganisms and their environment or hosts are also covered.