Have you ever tried growing native plants or setting up a native garden and found that some plants grow slow or not at all? The issue may not be your lack of a green thumb, but rather that the microbes and fungi in the soil may not have been established well.

In a recent publication, the BU science team found that the establishment of a healthy soil microbiome and mycobiome in the first 4-7 weeks after planting seeds is important for the initial germination and growth of the native grass Bouteloua (commonly known as sideoats grama). If there is an early disruption of the microbiome (called dysbiosis), this will lead to slower growth of the grass and allows for potential plant pathogens to establish themselves. This is similar to your need for a healthy gut or skin microbiome to keep you healthy. The study was just published this week in PLOS One:

Both bacteria and fungi are important in setting up the right plant environment, but it appears from the study that bacteria are involved in the initial establishment of beneficial conditions, which sets the stage for a robust fungal and plant seedling development. The study compared both planted and not planted soil and sterile (autoclaved) versus non-sterile soil and their impact on the growth of the native grass. The soil metagenome and its impact on the Bouteluoa growth was monitored for 7 weeks under controlled greenhouse conditions.

The impact of soil bacteria and fungi on agricultural crop plants is currently of great research interest, as soil quality is critical to food production for a growing global population. An estimated one-third of the world’s topsoil is already gone, and the rest could erode away within 60 years, according to a 2014 report by the United Nations. Reversing this trend is a daunting task, which will take a significant amount of time, so sustainable soil practices to maintain good soil health is imperative.

Microorganisms play a crucial role in the soil nutrient cycling process, and the loss of a diverse microbiome leads to problems with soil depletion and nutrient loss. Sustainable, natural soil management needs to include a better understanding and management of the soil microbes that help to improve the soil chemistry. A growing amount of research is becoming available on the soil microbiome impact on crops, however very little has been studied on native plants and non-food crops. Nevertheless, native plant areas provide important ecosystem services and biodiversity.

Our newest publication in PLOS One presents the work of BU science graduates Alisiara Hobbs and Daisy Ochoa-Rojas, together with Christine E. Humphrey who was a visiting summer student, under the guidance of Drs. John Kyndt and Tyler Moore.

Obtaining and analyzing a large amount of sequencing data and performing comparative analysis of the hundreds of bacterial and fungal species can be a tedious and challenging endeavor. The students spend many hours of their student research work optimizing the DNA extraction and analyzing sequencing data. In the end, under­standing these microbiome-plant relationships in native Bouteluoa curtipentula opens up possibilities for incorporating target strains that help the colonization and growth of this native grass in restored native habitats. Soil microbial health is important for native plant establishment in urban or prairie settings, and microbial optimization in the case of Bouteloua or other native plants could help their long-term establishment.

The sequencing of microbiomes of native plants and fungi is an ongoing project and there are more student opportunities to join in this research. For more information contact Dr. John Kyndt (jkyndt@bellevue.edu).