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Background and Aims <p>Phosphorus (P) deficiency limits crop productivity. Root hairs are crucial for P acquisition and may influence plant–microbe interactions. We investigated how root-hair defects affect plant responsiveness to beneficial bacteria under low-P conditions, using maize, rice and barley as cereal screening contexts.</p> Methods <p>A greenhouse screen was conducted in sterile low-P soil using three cereal species, 12 genotypes, including root-hair mutants and corresponding wild types, and selected bacterial inoculants. Maize was further analyzed for shoot biomass, shoot P concentration, total shoot P content and root traits. A 7-d agar plate assay assessed root-hair traits and early root system architecture (RSA) in the maize mutant <i>rth5</i>, complemented by in vitro bacterial characterization.</p> Results <p>A consistent genotype-dependent growth response was observed mainly in maize, with the root-hair mutant <i>rth5</i> responding most strongly to <i>Kribbella</i> and <i>Nocardioides</i>. Inoculation mitigated the lower shoot P concentration of <i>rth5</i> and increased its total shoot P content and biomass. While <i>Kribbella</i> also increased root biomass and RSA traits, <i>Nocardioides</i> primarily enhanced shoot P accumulation and RSA. Agar plate assays revealed that bacterial inoculation did not restore the defective root-hair phenotype of <i>rth5</i> but remodeled early RSA, including root length, surface area and branching. In vitro assays confirmed genus-level differences in plant growth-promoting traits.</p> Conclusion <p><i>Kribbella</i> and <i>Nocardioides</i> promote maize growth under low-P conditions in a genotype-dependent manner. In <i>rth5</i>, improved performance was associated with RSA remodeling and improved P acquisition rather than morphological restoration of root hairs.</p> Graphical Abstract <p>Created in BioRender. Huang, X. (2026) <a href="https://BioRender.com/mdwnd2b">https://BioRender.com/mdwnd2b</a></p> <p></p>

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Genotype-dependent growth promotion by Kribbella and Nocardioides in maize under low-phosphorus conditions

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2026年8月5日

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  • Xiaofang Huang,
  • Andrea Ovalle Morales,
  • Wenxin Zou,
  • Xiaoming He,
  • Baogang Yu,
  • Sabine von Tucher,
  • Ling Gu,
  • Gerd Patrick Bienert,
  • Peng Yu

摘要

Background and Aims

Phosphorus (P) deficiency limits crop productivity. Root hairs are crucial for P acquisition and may influence plant–microbe interactions. We investigated how root-hair defects affect plant responsiveness to beneficial bacteria under low-P conditions, using maize, rice and barley as cereal screening contexts.

Methods

A greenhouse screen was conducted in sterile low-P soil using three cereal species, 12 genotypes, including root-hair mutants and corresponding wild types, and selected bacterial inoculants. Maize was further analyzed for shoot biomass, shoot P concentration, total shoot P content and root traits. A 7-d agar plate assay assessed root-hair traits and early root system architecture (RSA) in the maize mutant rth5, complemented by in vitro bacterial characterization.

Results

A consistent genotype-dependent growth response was observed mainly in maize, with the root-hair mutant rth5 responding most strongly to Kribbella and Nocardioides. Inoculation mitigated the lower shoot P concentration of rth5 and increased its total shoot P content and biomass. While Kribbella also increased root biomass and RSA traits, Nocardioides primarily enhanced shoot P accumulation and RSA. Agar plate assays revealed that bacterial inoculation did not restore the defective root-hair phenotype of rth5 but remodeled early RSA, including root length, surface area and branching. In vitro assays confirmed genus-level differences in plant growth-promoting traits.

Conclusion

Kribbella and Nocardioides promote maize growth under low-P conditions in a genotype-dependent manner. In rth5, improved performance was associated with RSA remodeling and improved P acquisition rather than morphological restoration of root hairs.

Graphical Abstract

Created in BioRender. Huang, X. (2026) https://BioRender.com/mdwnd2b