Divergent responses of rhizosphere microbial diversity and co-occurrence patterns to elevation and season in Quercus franchetii from the Yuanmou dry‑hot valley, Southwest China
- 1Key Laboratory of Forest Resources Conservation and Utilization in the Southwest Mountains of China Ministry of Education, Southwest Forestry University
Abstract
Background Dry-hot valleys suffer from severe ecological stress, with the rhizosphere being an essential microhabitat for plant adaptation. Elevation and seasonal changes are key drivers shaping rhizosphere microbial diversity and community composition. However, their impacts on rhizosphere bacteria and fungi associated with Quercus franchetii in dry-hot valleys remain poorly understood. Result Bacterial α-diversity exhibited a V-shaped pattern along the elevational gradient, whereas fungal α-diversity generally declined with increasing elevation. Seasonal effects were pronounced, with both bacterial and fungal diversity higher in the rainy season. Soil pH had strong positive correlations with bacterial α-diversity, and both soil pH and water content were associated with variations in bacterial and fungal community composition. Bacterial co-occurrence networks were more complex than fungal networks. Rainy-season networks had higher natural connectivity, and higher random and targeted robustness AUC. Actinobacteriota, Acidobacteriota, and Ascomycota acted as keystone taxa stabilizing network interactions. Functional predictions indicated that bacterial communities were predominantly chemoheterotrophic, whereas fungal communities were dominated by symbiotrophic guilds. Conclusions Elevational gradients exert a stronger influence than seasonal variation on rhizosphere microbial diversity and composition. Soil pH and water content are key environmental filters shaping microbial assemblages. Microbial networks maintain ecosystem functions through seasonally modulated connectivity and cooperation. Keystone taxa may mediate network stability and functional resilience under spatiotemporal environmental variation. These results provide a basis for predicting microbial responses to environmental change in dry-hot valleys.
Related
- Responses of cut-lily quality and rhizosphere soil microecology to different microbial inoculants
- Boron-induced microbial filtering delays early rhizosphere establishment in agricultural soil
- Editorial: Salt-stress-relieving and growth-promoting microbial diversity and its interaction mechanism with plant rhizosphere
- Advancing Cadmium Remediation via Rhizosphere Engineering: From Microbial Mechanisms to Field Deployment
- Invasive Chinese tallow is associated with distinct rhizosphere microbial communities, core microbiomes, and functional potential relative to native Loblolly pine
BibTeX
@article{xie2026divergent,
title = {{Divergent responses of rhizosphere microbial diversity and co-occurrence patterns to elevation and season in Quercus franchetii from the Yuanmou dry‑hot valley, Southwest China}},
author = {Xuedan Xie and Guanping Li and Jiao Wu and Cailan Liu and Haitao Yue and Dacai Zhang},
journal = {BMC Microbiology},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.1186/s12866-026-05364-2},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1186/s12866-026-05364-2},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Divergent responses of rhizosphere microbial diversity and co-occurrence patterns to elevation and season in Quercus franchetii from the Yuanmou dry‑hot valley, Southwest China
AU - Xuedan Xie
AU - Guanping Li
AU - Jiao Wu
AU - Cailan Liu
AU - Haitao Yue
AU - Dacai Zhang
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/01
JO - BMC Microbiology
DO - 10.1186/s12866-026-05364-2
UR - https://doi.org/10.1186/s12866-026-05364-2
AB - Background Dry-hot valleys suffer from severe ecological stress, with the rhizosphere being an essential microhabitat for plant adaptation. Elevation and seasonal changes are key drivers shaping rhizosphere microbial diversity and community composition. However, their impacts on rhizosphere bacteria and fungi associated with Quercus franchetii in dry-hot valleys remain poorly understood. Result Bacterial α-diversity exhibited a V-shaped pattern along the elevational gradient, whereas fungal α-diversity generally declined with increasing elevation. Seasonal effects were pronounced, with both bacterial and fungal diversity higher in the rainy season. Soil pH had strong positive correlations with bacterial α-diversity, and both soil pH and water content were associated with variations in bacterial and fungal community composition. Bacterial co-occurrence networks were more complex than fungal networks. Rainy-season networks had higher natural connectivity, and higher random and targeted robustness AUC. Actinobacteriota, Acidobacteriota, and Ascomycota acted as keystone taxa stabilizing network interactions. Functional predictions indicated that bacterial communities were predominantly chemoheterotrophic, whereas fungal communities were dominated by symbiotrophic guilds. Conclusions Elevational gradients exert a stronger influence than seasonal variation on rhizosphere microbial diversity and composition. Soil pH and water content are key environmental filters shaping microbial assemblages. Microbial networks maintain ecosystem functions through seasonally modulated connectivity and cooperation. Keystone taxa may mediate network stability and functional resilience under spatiotemporal environmental variation. These results provide a basis for predicting microbial responses to environmental change in dry-hot valleys.
SN - 1471-2180
ER -