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Soil salinization seriously affects soilmicrobial diversity, and crop yield and quality worldwide. Microorganisms play a vital role in the process of crop yield and quality. Traditional Chinese medicine Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch. (licorice) can grow tenaciously in the heavily salinized land. However, the relationship between licorice plants and soilmicroorganisms is not clear. A field experiment was carried out to explore the effects of three different degrees of salinized soils on (i) licorice crop performance indicators, (ii) soil physical and chemical properties, and (iii) the changes in soil bacterial community structure and functional diversity in a semi-arid area of northwest China. The results showed that with the aggravation of soil salinization, the licorice yield, soil nutrients, and the bacterial abundance of Gemmatimonadetes and Myxococcota showed a downward trend, while the concentration of glycyrrhizic acid and liquiritin, and the bacterial abundance of Actinobacteria and Firmicutes showed an upward trend. The change of licorice yield mainly depended on the soil physical and chemical properties (e.g., EC and alkaline hydrolysable nitrogen). The change of licorice quality was more closely related to the change of bacterial diversity. The effect of bacterial diversity on liquiritin was greater than that on glycyrrhizic acid. Among them, Gemmatimonadetes were significantly negatively correlated with liquiritin and glycyrrhizic acid. These findings suggest that the increased soil Actinobacteria and Firmicutes or reduced Gemmatimonadetes and Myxococcota may provide a healthy and suitable living condition for the sustainable development of medicinal plant crops in a salinized soil ecosystem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Author(s): Neil McLaughlin [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.25073.33, 0000 0004 1936 8227, Department of Sociology and Social Psychology, McMaster University, , Hamilton, Canada Responsibly reviewing Jordan Peterson's new book requires [...]

The biological degradation of plant residues in the soil or on the soil surface is an integral part of the natural life cycle of annual plants and does not have adverse effects on the environment. Crop straw is characterized by a complex structure and exhibits stability and resistance to rapid microbial decomposition. In this study, we conducted a microcosm experiment to investigate the dynamic succession of the soil microbial community and the functional characteristics associated with lignocellulose-degrading pathways. Additionally, we aimed to identify lignocellulose-degrading microorganisms from the straw of three crop species prevalent in Northeast China: soybean (Glycine max Merr.), rice (Oryza sativa L.), and maize (Zea mays L.). Our findings revealed that both the type of straw and the degradation time influenced the bacterial and fungal community structure and composition. Metagenome sequencing results demonstrated that during degradation, different straw types assembled carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes) and KEGG pathways in distinct manners, contributing to lignocellulose and hemicellulose degradation. Furthermore, isolation of lignocellulose-degrading microbes yielded 59 bacterial and 14 fungal strains contributing to straw degradation, with fungi generally exhibiting superior lignocellulose-degrading enzyme production compared to bacteria. Experiments were conducted to assess the potential synergistic effects of synthetic microbial communities (SynComs) comprising both fungi and bacteria. These SynComs resulted in a straw weight loss of 42% at 15 days post-inoculation, representing a 22% increase compared to conditions without any SynComs. In summary, our study provides novel ecological insights into crop straw degradation by microbes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]