ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Unfavorable Soil Environment
for Root-Knot Nematode Infestation:
Insights from Metabolomics and Microbial
Diversity Analysis in Tomato Rhizosphere Soil
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1
College of Life Science, Hebei University, Baoding, 071002, China
2
Seed Workstation of the Agriculture and Rural Department of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Yinchuan, 750000, China
3
Hebei Innovation Center for Bioengineering and Biotechnology, Hebei University, Baoding, 071002, China
4
Engineering Research Center of Ecological Safety and Conservation in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (Xiong’an New Area) of
MOE, Baoding, 071002, China
These authors had equal contribution to this work
Submission date: 2024-04-08
Final revision date: 2024-08-02
Acceptance date: 2024-09-21
Online publication date: 2024-11-06
Corresponding author
Gangyong Zhao
College of Life Science, Hebei University, Baoding, 071002, China
Dandan Cao
College of Life Science, Hebei University, Baoding, 071002, China
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ABSTRACT
Plant root-knot disease caused by nematodes is a serious threat to agricultural production
worldwide, second only to fungal diseases. Meloidogyne incognita is the most prevalent nematode
species among RKN infested vegetables and cash crops. To explore the most potential biocontrol
agents for Meloidogyne incognita, this study employed metabolomics and high-throughput sequencing
approaches to assess alterations in metabolite profiles and microbial community structures of the
rhizosphere soil around tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) roots before and after Meloidogyne incognita
infestation. Subsequently, a comprehensive analysis of the metabolome and microbial diversity was
conducted to identify differentially accumulated metabolites, microbes, and their correlation with each
other. As a result, a total of 51 metabolites and 28 microbial genera exhibited significant differences
in abundance between the treatments. Specifically, 27 metabolites were increased in concentration
while 24 decreased, and the abundance of 25 bacterial genera and three fungal species was significantly
altered. Further analysis revealed that five metabolites, including 5-fluorouridine monophosphate and
fusarochromanone, as well as nine microbial genera, such as Bacillus, Streptomyces, and Paenibacillus,
exhibited potential correlation with the biocontrol agents. In conclusion, the infestation of tomatoes
by M. incognita results in substantial alterations to the metabolite profiles and microbial community structures within the rhizosphere soil. Five of the metabolites and nine microbial genera were identified
as potential candidates for biocontrol of M. incognita.