ABSTRACT
Effects of sugarcane-duck symbiosis on rhizobacterial community structure and interannual variability

Wenqing Ma1, Dejin Bi1, Qinsi Wu1, Qiang Guo1, Liqiu Tang1, Jianglu Wei1, and Youzong Huang2*
 
Sugarcane-duck symbiosis (SDS) is an ecological breeding production method wherein meat ducks are released in sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) fields during the middle and late stages of sugarcane growth. The effects of SDS on sugarcane rhizobacterial diversity remain poorly understood. We conducted field experiments with sugarcane monoculture (SC) and SDS and performed genetic analyses on the rhizobacterial communities based on 16S rRNA across different growth stages of sugarcane. The effects of soil physicochemical factors on the bacterial community structure were analyzed via redundancy analysis. We found that soil organic matter (SOM), total N (TN), nitrate N (NN), and ammonium N (AN) contents of sugarcane rhizosphere soils increased during different growth periods in SDS. During the perennial root stages, the Shannon-, Ace-, and Chao1 indices increased, whereas the available P (AP) content decreased. The soil pH was more balanced and its effect on the soil bacterial community was insignificant. The dominant sugarcane rhizosphere flora were Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, Chloroflexi, Acidobacteria, Firmicutes, norank_f__norank_o__Gaiellales, Sphingomonas, norank_f__Roseiflexaceae, Bacillus, and norank_f__Xanthobacteraceae, but with significant inter-annual variations. Redundancy analysis showed that SOM, TN, NN, AN, AP, catalase (CAT) and invertase (INV) activity were closely associated with the diversity of the soil bacterial communities, and TN and INV activity were the main drivers of sugarcane rhizobacterial communities in the SDS groups. In conclusion, SDS improves the fertilizer supply capacity and soil quality of sugarcane soils by regulating major soil nutrient content, available nutrients, and microbial diversity. This study provides a theoretical basis for scientifically managing SDS and the screening of biocontrol bacteria.
Keywords: Bacterial community, growth period, meat duck, rhizosphere, sugarcane-duck symbiosis.
1Guangxi South Subtropical Agricultural Scientific Research Institute, Chongzuo, China.
2Guangxi University, Industrial Development Institute of Agri-animal, Province and Ministry Co-sponsored Collaborative Innovation Center of Sugarcane and Sugar Industry, Nanning 530004, China.
*Corresponding author (huangyouzong@sina.com).