The impact of rhizosphere soil microorganisms on the medicinal active ingredients of Atractylodes chinensis from different regions.

Aims: Analyzing the rhizosphere microbial community structure of Atractylodes chinensis from different regions and its correlation with the accumulation of main medicinal active ingredients, this study aims to explore the impact of rhizosphere soil microorganisms on the effective components of A. chinensis, providing a scientific basis for the high-quality and high-yield cultivation of A. chinensis.

Methods and results: The rhizosphere soil of three-year-old A. chinensis was used as the research object. High-throughput sequencing technology was employed to analyze the rhizosphere bacterial and fungal community structures. High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) was used to detect the contents of atractylodin, atractylon, β-eudesmol, and atractylenolide III in the medicinal materials. Pearson correlation analysis was performed to explore the relationship between soil microbial communities and the active ingredients. α-diversity results showed that the Yaowangmiao village (YWM) microbial community had the highest richness and diversity, while Xingzhoucun (XZC) had the lowest, and Beiwushijiazi village (BWSJZ) had the lowest fungal community diversity and richness. PCoA analysis at the phylum level indicated that soil bacterial communities were more dispersed than fungal communities among different regions. The bacterial community in XZC significantly differed from other regions, while fungal communities in BWSJZ and Ximiaogong village (XMG) showed considerable differences from other regions. The content of active ingredients in different regions showed that Yuzhangzi village (YZZ) and BWSJZ had higher content and better quality of medicinal materials according to the content of atractylodesin specified in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia Commission. The dominant bacterial phylum in the rhizosphere soil of YZZ was Acidobacteriota, and the dominant genus was RB41. In BWSJZ, Acidobacteriota was the dominant bacterial phylum, with Arthrobacter and unclassified_f_Vicinamibacteraceae as dominant genera; the dominant fungal phylum was Basidiomycota, with Tausonia as the dominant genus. Different bacterial and fungal communities synergistically promoted or inhibited the synthesis of four active ingredients.

Conclusion: In short, this provides a theoretical basis for the distribution of soil rhizosphere microbial communities in the cultivation of A. chinensis and offers a reference for the cultivation of A. chinensis medicinal materials.