Exploring the role of ergothioneine and mycorrhizal fungi in shaping the wheat soil microbiome.

Abstract

Background: The association between plants and soil microbes is critical for both soil and plant health. Introducing beneficial microbial inoculants, such as arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), can enhance the uptake of nutrients and compounds in plants including ergothioneine (ERGO), a well-known antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compound that humans must obtain through diet. However, little is known about how ERGO and inoculated AMF influence ERGO uptake in plants or affect soil microbiome composition, including bacteria, archaea, and fungi. This study investigates the interaction between soil-applied ERGO and AMF inoculation in plant-microbe symbioses to assess (1) whether these treatments increase ERGO content in the staple crop wheat (Triticum aestivum), and (2) how they alter soil microbiome structure.

Results: Combined treatment with ERGO and AMF significantly increased wheat (Triticum aestivum) biomass and ERGO accumulation in roots and shoots. This co-treatment also led to higher bacterial diversity in rhizosphere. PERMANOVA analysis confirmed that both AMF and AMF/ERGO treatments significantly influenced microbiome composition, particularly bacterial communities. Indicator species analysis showed enrichment of Thioalkalivibrio, Chlorobi bacterium, Planctomycetes (Planctomycete A-2) and Candida subhashi, Paecilomyces zollerniae under ERGO and AMF/ERGO treatments.

Conclusions: Overall, the data show that plants can readily take up ERGO from the soil, with or without AMF, and that both ERGO and AMF amendments reshape soil microbiome communities. These findings highlight the broader role of ERGO and AMF in connecting soil microbiome to plant and human nutrition, a link that warrants further investigation.