Analysis of microbial diversity and community structure of rhizosphere soil of Cistanche salsa from different host plants

Abstract Host plants influence Cistanche germination through root secretions, and plant rhizosphere bacteria influence host growth. Therefore, investigating the distribution of rhizosphere microorganisms in these host plants is crucial. Currently, good literature comparing the rhizosphere soil bacteria and fungi of different host plants of Cistanche salsa in the same habitat is lacking. High-throughput sequencing was used here to reveal the similarities and differences in the structural composition of the soil microbial community of C. salsa from six host plants (i.e., Halocnemum, Atriplex, Kalidium, Tamarix, Anabasis, and Ceratoides). We discovered that Ceratoides-parasitizing C. salsa had the highest diversity of rhizosphere bacterial communities, and Anabasis-parasitizing C. salsa had the highest diversity of rhizosphere fungal communities. norank_f__norank_o__Actinomarinales and Aspergillus were the most dominant bacterial and fungal genera, respectively. However, differences were noted in the contents of individual samples, which were attributable to the different host plants. RDA results also revealed that AP, HCO3−, pH, Ca2+, SO42−, and K+ had a highly significant impact on the bacterial community structure (P<0.01), while pH and SO42− had a significant impact on the fungal community structure (P<0.05). Moreover, bacteria are more vulnerable than fungi to soil physical and chemical indicators. Conclusively, differences were noted in the structure of rhizosphere bacterial and fungal communities of C. salsa parasitizing different plants in the same habit. A close correlation was observed between C. salsa and their host plants, soil microorganisms, and soil physical and chemical indicators. Our study findings can provide novel ideas for host plant selection and C. salsa cultivation.