Bacterially enhanced plant‐growing media for controlled environment agriculture
Abstract Microbe–plant interactions in the root zone not only shape crop performance in soil but also in hydroponic cultivation systems. The biological and physicochemical properties of the plant‐growing medium determine the root‐associated microbial community and influence bacterial inoculation eff...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2024-02-01
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| Series: | Microbial Biotechnology |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1111/1751-7915.14422 |
| _version_ | 1797294807895244800 |
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| author | Thijs Van Gerrewey Oscar Navarrete Maarten Vandecruys Maaike Perneel Nico Boon Danny Geelen |
| author_facet | Thijs Van Gerrewey Oscar Navarrete Maarten Vandecruys Maaike Perneel Nico Boon Danny Geelen |
| author_sort | Thijs Van Gerrewey |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Microbe–plant interactions in the root zone not only shape crop performance in soil but also in hydroponic cultivation systems. The biological and physicochemical properties of the plant‐growing medium determine the root‐associated microbial community and influence bacterial inoculation effectiveness, which affects plant growth. This study investigated the combined impact of plant‐growing media composition and bacterial community inoculation on the root‐associated bacterial community of hydroponically grown lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.). Ten plant‐growing media were composed of varying raw materials, including black peat, white peat, coir pith, wood fibre, composted bark, green waste compost, perlite and sand. In addition, five different bacterial community inocula (BCI S1–5) were collected from the roots of lettuce obtained at different farms. After inoculation and cultivation inside a vertical farm, lettuce root‐associated bacterial community structures, diversity and compositions were determined by evaluating 16S rRNA gene sequences. The study revealed distinct bacterial community structures among experimental replicates, highlighting the influence of raw material variations on root‐associated bacterial communities, even at the batch level. However, bacterial community inoculation allowed modulation of the root‐associated bacterial communities independently from the plant‐growing medium composition. Bacterial diversity was identified as a key determinant of plant growth performance with green waste compost introducing Bacilli and Actinobacteria, and bacterial community inoculum S3 introducing Pseudomonas, which positively correlated with plant growth. These findings challenge the prevailing notion of hydroponic cultivation systems as sterile environments and highlight the significance of proper plant‐growing media raw material selection and bacterial community inoculation in shaping root‐associated microbiomes that provide stability through microbial diversity. This study supports the concept of creating bacterially enhanced plant‐growing media to promote plant growth in controlled environment agriculture. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T21:37:03Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e71a2465870947318df08cb2722a7638 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1751-7915 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T21:37:03Z |
| publishDate | 2024-02-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Microbial Biotechnology |
| spelling | doaj.art-e71a2465870947318df08cb2722a76382024-02-26T12:12:42ZengWileyMicrobial Biotechnology1751-79152024-02-01172n/an/a10.1111/1751-7915.14422Bacterially enhanced plant‐growing media for controlled environment agricultureThijs Van Gerrewey0Oscar Navarrete1Maarten Vandecruys2Maaike Perneel3Nico Boon4Danny Geelen5HortiCell, Department of Plants and Crops, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering Ghent University Gent BelgiumUrban Crop Solutions BVBA Waregem BelgiumUrban Crop Solutions BVBA Waregem BelgiumCropfit, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering Ghent University Gent BelgiumCenter for Microbial Ecology and Technology (CMET), Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering Ghent University Gent BelgiumHortiCell, Department of Plants and Crops, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering Ghent University Gent BelgiumAbstract Microbe–plant interactions in the root zone not only shape crop performance in soil but also in hydroponic cultivation systems. The biological and physicochemical properties of the plant‐growing medium determine the root‐associated microbial community and influence bacterial inoculation effectiveness, which affects plant growth. This study investigated the combined impact of plant‐growing media composition and bacterial community inoculation on the root‐associated bacterial community of hydroponically grown lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.). Ten plant‐growing media were composed of varying raw materials, including black peat, white peat, coir pith, wood fibre, composted bark, green waste compost, perlite and sand. In addition, five different bacterial community inocula (BCI S1–5) were collected from the roots of lettuce obtained at different farms. After inoculation and cultivation inside a vertical farm, lettuce root‐associated bacterial community structures, diversity and compositions were determined by evaluating 16S rRNA gene sequences. The study revealed distinct bacterial community structures among experimental replicates, highlighting the influence of raw material variations on root‐associated bacterial communities, even at the batch level. However, bacterial community inoculation allowed modulation of the root‐associated bacterial communities independently from the plant‐growing medium composition. Bacterial diversity was identified as a key determinant of plant growth performance with green waste compost introducing Bacilli and Actinobacteria, and bacterial community inoculum S3 introducing Pseudomonas, which positively correlated with plant growth. These findings challenge the prevailing notion of hydroponic cultivation systems as sterile environments and highlight the significance of proper plant‐growing media raw material selection and bacterial community inoculation in shaping root‐associated microbiomes that provide stability through microbial diversity. This study supports the concept of creating bacterially enhanced plant‐growing media to promote plant growth in controlled environment agriculture.https://doi.org/10.1111/1751-7915.14422 |
| spellingShingle | Thijs Van Gerrewey Oscar Navarrete Maarten Vandecruys Maaike Perneel Nico Boon Danny Geelen Bacterially enhanced plant‐growing media for controlled environment agriculture Microbial Biotechnology |
| title | Bacterially enhanced plant‐growing media for controlled environment agriculture |
| title_full | Bacterially enhanced plant‐growing media for controlled environment agriculture |
| title_fullStr | Bacterially enhanced plant‐growing media for controlled environment agriculture |
| title_full_unstemmed | Bacterially enhanced plant‐growing media for controlled environment agriculture |
| title_short | Bacterially enhanced plant‐growing media for controlled environment agriculture |
| title_sort | bacterially enhanced plant growing media for controlled environment agriculture |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1111/1751-7915.14422 |
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