Soil microbial diversity: A key factor in pathogen suppression and inoculant performance

Soil microbial diversity plays a crucial role in plant health, influencing pathogen suppression and biocontrol efficacy. This study investigated how soil microbial diversity modulates interactions between the pathogen Bipolaris sorokiniana and the biocontrol bacterium Pseudomonas inefficax in the wheat rhizosphere. Using a dilution-to-extinction method, we established five soil microbial diversity levels: natural soil, dilutions at 10-1, 10-3, 10-6, and fully autoclaved soil. This gradient allowed us to evaluate disease severity, plant growth, and rhizosphere microbiome shifts. Inoculation with Pseudomonas inefficax significantly reduced disease severity caused by Bipolaris sorokiniana, particularly in low-diversity soils, emphasizing the effectiveness of P. inefficax in these simplified environments where microbial competition is reduced. Despite higher pathogen abundance in low-diversity soils, P. inefficax effectively mitigated disease severity, likely through direct antagonistic activity. Alpha diversity indices confirmed a reduction in microbial diversity across the gradient, while beta diversity analyses revealed distinct shifts among treatments. Although Chitinophaga, Pseudomonas and Dyadobacter were significantly enriched in natural soils with inoculation of the P. inefficax, statistically significant disease suppression was not observed under these higher-diversity conditions. On the other hand, in low-diverse soils (autoclaved soil), where disease is suppressed with P. inefficax inoculation, Fluviicola showed a significant enrichment when compared with the treatment inoculated only with the pathogen, suggesting that this bacterial taxon can play a role in disease suppression along with the inoculant. These findings underscore the critical role of the soil microbial diversity in shaping the success of biocontrol interventions.