Recently, Professor He Xiaoqing's team from the College of Biological Science and Technology, BFU, has made new progress in microbiome dynamics of P. euphratica under salinity stress.The paper titled "Assembly, network and functionalcompensation of specialists andgeneralists in poplar rhizosphere undersalt stress" was published in npj Biofilms and Microbiomes, a renowned journal under the Nature Publishing Group. This research offers critical insights into the microbiome dynamics of P. euphratica under salinity stress, advancing the understanding of specialists and generalists in the rhizosphere.

Soil salinization significantly hampers plant growth and crop productivity worldwide. The rhizosphere microbiome, pivotal in aiding plant tolerance to salt stress, is often considered as the plant's 'second genome'. Numerous studies have shown when faced with high salinity conditions, plants can attract specific beneficial soil bacteria to their rhizosphere, fostering growth. Populus euphratica, renowned for its ability to thrive in saline environments, possesses a distinct soil microbiome that may underpin its stress resistance. Despite the critical interplay between P. euphratica and its rhizosphere microorganisms, research in this area remains sparse.

Salinity is a major challenge for plant growth, but Populus euphratica, a species native to desert regions, has a remarkable ability to tolerate salt stress. This study aimed to explore how salinity affects the rhizosphere microbiome of P. euphratica, focusing on diversity patterns, assembly mechanisms, network characterization, and the functional roles of specialists and generalists under salt stress conditions. The findings revealed that increased salinity enhances the complexity of the rhizosphere microbial network and the diversity of bacterial specialists. Specialists demonstrated a wider range of environmental adaptation and played a pivotal role in species interactions within the microbial network. Notably, salinity stress altered the structure and assembly of plant rhizosphere specialists, facilitating functional compensation and potentially augmenting the health of P. euphratica.

The study elucidates the significant impact of salinity on the formation and function of specialist versus generalist bacteria within the rhizosphere, highlighting the adaptive strategies that enable certain bacteria to thrive under saline stress.

Moving forward, the research team aim to identify and further investigate salt-tolerant strains among these specialists, exploring their function and the potential for creating synthetic microbial communities (SynCom).

Du Yao and Zhang Lei, PhD candidates in the College of Biological Science and Technology, are the co-first authors of the paper, with Professor He Xiaoqing serving as the corresponding author. Associate Professor Jin Yi also contributed to this research.

This work is financially supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2023YFF1304302).

Paper link: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41522-025-00662-5

Written by Du Yao
Translated and edited by Song He
Reviewed by Yu Yangyang