Bacterial Diversity and Community Structure of the Jujube Rhizosphere in Southern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China

Jujube is an important economic crop in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Microbial diversity in the rhizosphere is essential for plant quality; however, soil bacterial diversity and community structure in the jujube rhizosphere have not been characterized in this region. In this study, we used pyrosequencing to analyze bacterial diversity and community structure at different growth stages in the jujube rhizosphere in Hetian, Kashi, and Aksu prefectures. These results revealed a greater bacterial diversity in the 8-year jujube rhizosphere as compared with the 3-year-old rhizosphere taken from the same sampling area. Moreover, samples obtained from Kashi prefecture showed the largest diversity among the different areas. The most abundant phyla across all soil samples were Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Acidobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Firmicutes. Dominant phyla in the 8-year jujube rhizosphere accounted for the increased observed diversity. Furthermore, comparative analysis of the bacterial communities with respect to rhizosphere age and sampling areas revealed a significant correlation between soil properties and phyla diversity. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study of jujube rhizosphere bacterial diversity and community structure in the southern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and we hope that our research provides a reference for future studies.