Variation in rhizosphere microbial communities and its association with the symbiotic efficiency of rhizobia in soybean

Abstract Rhizobia–legume symbiosis is an important type of plant–microbe mutualism; however, the establishment of this association is complicated and can be affected by many factors. The soybean rhizosphere has a specific microbial community, yet whether these organisms affect rhizobial nodulation has not been well investigated. Here, we analyzed the compositions and relationships of soybean rhizocompartment microbiota in three types of soil. First, we found that the rhizosphere community composition of soybean varied significantly in different soils, and the association network between rhizobia and other rhizosphere bacteria was examined. Second, we found that some rhizosphere microbes were correlated with the composition of bradyrhizobia and sinorhizobia in nodules. We cultivated 278 candidate Bacillus isolates from alkaline soil. Finally, interaction and nodulation assays showed that the Bacillus cereus group specifically promotes and suppresses the growth of sinorhizobia and bradyrhizobia, respectively, and alleviates the effects of saline–alkali conditions on the nodulation of sinorhizobia as well as affecting its colonization in nodules. Our findings demonstrate a crucial role of the bacterial microbiota in shaping rhizobia–host interactions in soybean, and provide a framework for improving the symbiotic efficiency of this system of mutualism through the use of synthetic bacterial communities.