Domesticated rice alters the rhizosphere microbiome, reducing nitrogen fixation and increasing nitrous oxide emissions

Bibliographic Details
Title: Domesticated rice alters the rhizosphere microbiome, reducing nitrogen fixation and increasing nitrous oxide emissions
Authors: Jingjing Chang, Ohana Y. A. Costa, Yu Sun, Jilin Wang, Lei Tian, Shaohua Shi, Enze Wang, Li Ji, Changji Wang, Yingnan Pang, Zongmu Yao, Libo Ye, Jianfeng Zhang, Hongping Chen, Yaohui Cai, Dazhou Chen, Zhiping Song, Jun Rong, Jos M. Raaijmakers, Chunjie Tian, Eiko E. Kuramae
Source: Nature Communications, Vol 16, Iss 1, Pp 1-14 (2025)
Publisher Information: Nature Portfolio, 2025.
Publication Year: 2025
Collection: LCC:Science
Subject Terms: Science
More Details: Abstract Crop domestication has revolutionized food production but increased agriculture’s reliance on fertilizers and pesticides. We investigate differences in the rhizosphere microbiome functions of wild and domesticated rice, focusing on nitrogen (N) cycling genes. Shotgun metagenomics and real-time PCR reveal a higher abundance of N-fixing genes in the wild rice rhizosphere microbiomes. Validation through transplanting rhizosphere microbiome suspensions shows the highest nitrogenase activity in soils with wild rice suspensions, regardless of planted rice type. Domesticated rice, however, exhibits an increased number of genes associated with nitrous oxide (N2O) production. Measurements of N2O emissions in soils with wild and domesticated rice are significantly higher in soil with domesticated rice compared to wild rice. Comparative root metabolomics between wild and domesticated rice further show that wild rice root exudates positively correlate with the frequency and abundance of microbial N-fixing genes, as indicated by metagenomic and qPCR, respectively. To confirm, we add wild and domesticated rice root metabolites to black soil, and qPCR shows that wild rice exudates maximize microbial N-fixing gene abundances and nitrogenase activity. Collectively, these findings suggest that rice domestication negatively impacts N-fixing bacteria and enriches bacteria that produce the greenhouse gas N2O, highlighting the environmental trade-offs associated with crop domestication.
Document Type: article
File Description: electronic resource
Language: English
ISSN: 2041-1723
Relation: https://doaj.org/toc/2041-1723
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-57213-x
Access URL: https://doaj.org/article/d528d99dc6bb4caba479c432418d4853
Accession Number: edsdoj.528d99dc6bb4caba479c432418d4853
Database: Directory of Open Access Journals
More Details
ISSN:20411723
DOI:10.1038/s41467-025-57213-x
Published in:Nature Communications
Language:English