Fungal endophyte promotes plant growth and disease resistance of Arachis hypogaea L. by reshaping the core root microbiome under monocropping conditions

Fungal endophytes play critical roles in helping plants adapt to adverse environmental conditions. The root endophyte Phomopsis liquidambaris can promote the growth and disease control of peanut plants grown under monocropping systems; however, how such beneficial traits are produced is largely unknown. Since the plant endophytic microbiome is directly linked to plant growth and health, and the composition of which has been found to be potentially influenced by microbial inoculants, this study aims to clarify the roles of root endophytic bacterial communities in P. liquidambaris-mediated plant fitness enhancement under monocropping conditions. Here, we found that P. liquidambaris inoculation induced significant changes in the root bacterial community: enriching some beneficial bacteria such as Bradyrhizobium sp. and Streptomyces sp. in the roots, and improving the core microbial-based interaction network. Next, we assembled and simplified a synthetic community (SynII) based on P. liquidambaris-derived key taxa, including Bacillus sp. HB1, Bacillus sp. HB9, Burkholderia sp. MB7, Pseudomonas sp. MB2, Streptomyces sp. MB6, and Bradyrhizobium sp. MB15. Furthermore, the application of the simplified synthetic community suppressed root rot caused by Fusarium oxysporum, promoted plant growth, and increased peanut yields under continuous monocropping conditions. The resistance of synII to F. oxysporum is related to the increased activity of defense enzymes. In addition, synII application significantly increased shoot and root biomass, and yield by 35.56%, 81.19%, and 34.31%, respectively. Collectively, our results suggest that the reshaping of root core microbiota plays an important role in the probiotic-mediated adaptability of plants under adverse environments.