Potassium Improves Drought Stress Tolerance in Plants by Affecting Root Morphology, Root Exudates, and Microbial Diversity
Potassium (K) reduces the deleterious effects of drought stress on plants. However, this mitigation has been studied mainly in the aboveground plant pathways, while the effect of K on root-soil interactions in the underground part is still underexplored. Here, we conducted the experiments to investi...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2021-02-01
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| Series: | Metabolites |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2218-1989/11/3/131 |
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| author | Qiwen Xu Hao Fu Bo Zhu Hafiz Athar Hussain Kangping Zhang Xiaoqing Tian Meichun Duan Xiaoyu Xie Longchang Wang |
| author_facet | Qiwen Xu Hao Fu Bo Zhu Hafiz Athar Hussain Kangping Zhang Xiaoqing Tian Meichun Duan Xiaoyu Xie Longchang Wang |
| author_sort | Qiwen Xu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Potassium (K) reduces the deleterious effects of drought stress on plants. However, this mitigation has been studied mainly in the aboveground plant pathways, while the effect of K on root-soil interactions in the underground part is still underexplored. Here, we conducted the experiments to investigate how K enhances plant resistance and tolerance to drought by controlling rhizosphere processes. Three culture methods (sand, water, and soil) evaluated two rapeseed cultivars’ root morphology, root exudates, soil nutrients, and microbial community structure under different K supply levels and water conditions to construct a defensive network of the underground part. We found that K supply increased the root length and density and the organic acids secretion. The organic acids were significantly associated with the available potassium decomposition, in order of formic acid > malonic acid > lactic acid > oxalic acid > citric acid. However, the mitigation had the hormesis effect, as the appropriate range of K facilitated the morphological characteristic and physiological function of the root system with increases of supply levels, while the excessive input of K could hinder the plant growth. The positive effect of K-fertilizer on soil pH, available phosphorus and available potassium content, and microbial diversity index was more significant under the water stress. The rhizosphere nutrients and pH further promoted the microbial community development by the structural equation modeling, while the non-rhizosphere nutrients had an indirect negative effect on microbes. In short, K application could alleviate drought stress on the growth and development of plants by regulating the morphology and secretion of roots and soil ecosystems. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T00:34:48Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a8443c8016914d74b3bb59a1ff16da86 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2218-1989 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T00:34:48Z |
| publishDate | 2021-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Metabolites |
| spelling | doaj.art-a8443c8016914d74b3bb59a1ff16da862023-12-11T18:18:09ZengMDPI AGMetabolites2218-19892021-02-0111313110.3390/metabo11030131Potassium Improves Drought Stress Tolerance in Plants by Affecting Root Morphology, Root Exudates, and Microbial DiversityQiwen Xu0Hao Fu1Bo Zhu2Hafiz Athar Hussain3Kangping Zhang4Xiaoqing Tian5Meichun Duan6Xiaoyu Xie7Longchang Wang8Key Laboratory of Eco-Environments in Three Gorges Reservoir Region, College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, ChinaKey Laboratory of Horticulture Science for Southern Mountains Regions of Ministry of Education, College of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, ChinaKey Laboratory of Eco-Environments in Three Gorges Reservoir Region, College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, ChinaKey Laboratory of Eco-Environments in Three Gorges Reservoir Region, College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, ChinaKey Laboratory of Eco-Environments in Three Gorges Reservoir Region, College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, ChinaKey Laboratory of Eco-Environments in Three Gorges Reservoir Region, College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, ChinaKey Laboratory of Eco-Environments in Three Gorges Reservoir Region, College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, ChinaKey Laboratory of Eco-Environments in Three Gorges Reservoir Region, College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, ChinaKey Laboratory of Eco-Environments in Three Gorges Reservoir Region, College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, ChinaPotassium (K) reduces the deleterious effects of drought stress on plants. However, this mitigation has been studied mainly in the aboveground plant pathways, while the effect of K on root-soil interactions in the underground part is still underexplored. Here, we conducted the experiments to investigate how K enhances plant resistance and tolerance to drought by controlling rhizosphere processes. Three culture methods (sand, water, and soil) evaluated two rapeseed cultivars’ root morphology, root exudates, soil nutrients, and microbial community structure under different K supply levels and water conditions to construct a defensive network of the underground part. We found that K supply increased the root length and density and the organic acids secretion. The organic acids were significantly associated with the available potassium decomposition, in order of formic acid > malonic acid > lactic acid > oxalic acid > citric acid. However, the mitigation had the hormesis effect, as the appropriate range of K facilitated the morphological characteristic and physiological function of the root system with increases of supply levels, while the excessive input of K could hinder the plant growth. The positive effect of K-fertilizer on soil pH, available phosphorus and available potassium content, and microbial diversity index was more significant under the water stress. The rhizosphere nutrients and pH further promoted the microbial community development by the structural equation modeling, while the non-rhizosphere nutrients had an indirect negative effect on microbes. In short, K application could alleviate drought stress on the growth and development of plants by regulating the morphology and secretion of roots and soil ecosystems.https://www.mdpi.com/2218-1989/11/3/131potassiumdrought stressroot morphologyorganic acidsmicrobes |
| spellingShingle | Qiwen Xu Hao Fu Bo Zhu Hafiz Athar Hussain Kangping Zhang Xiaoqing Tian Meichun Duan Xiaoyu Xie Longchang Wang Potassium Improves Drought Stress Tolerance in Plants by Affecting Root Morphology, Root Exudates, and Microbial Diversity Metabolites potassium drought stress root morphology organic acids microbes |
| title | Potassium Improves Drought Stress Tolerance in Plants by Affecting Root Morphology, Root Exudates, and Microbial Diversity |
| title_full | Potassium Improves Drought Stress Tolerance in Plants by Affecting Root Morphology, Root Exudates, and Microbial Diversity |
| title_fullStr | Potassium Improves Drought Stress Tolerance in Plants by Affecting Root Morphology, Root Exudates, and Microbial Diversity |
| title_full_unstemmed | Potassium Improves Drought Stress Tolerance in Plants by Affecting Root Morphology, Root Exudates, and Microbial Diversity |
| title_short | Potassium Improves Drought Stress Tolerance in Plants by Affecting Root Morphology, Root Exudates, and Microbial Diversity |
| title_sort | potassium improves drought stress tolerance in plants by affecting root morphology root exudates and microbial diversity |
| topic | potassium drought stress root morphology organic acids microbes |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2218-1989/11/3/131 |
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