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Many plants associate with endophytic microbes that improve root phosphorus (P) uptake. Understanding the interactions between roots and endophytes can enable efforts to improve P utilization. Here, we characterize the interactions between lateral roots of endophytes in a core collection of 50 rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) genotypes with differing sensitivities to low P conditions. With the correlation analysis result between bacterial abundance and plant physiological indices of rapeseeds, and inoculation experiments on plates and soil, we identify one Flavobacterium strain (C2) that significantly alleviates the P deficiency phenotype of rapeseeds. The underlying mechanisms are explored by performing the weighted gene coexpression network analysis (WGCNA), and conducting genome-wide association studies (GWAS) using Flavobacterium abundance as a quantitative trait. Under P-limited conditions, C2 regulates fatty acid and lipid metabolic pathways. For example, C2 improves metabolism of linoleic acid, which mediates root suberin biosynthesis, and enhances P uptake efficiency. In addition, C2 suppresses root jasmonic acid biosynthesis, which depends on α-linolenic acid metabolism, improving C2 colonization and activating P uptake. This study demonstrates that adjusting the endophyte composition can modulate P uptake in B. napus plants, providing a basis for developing agricultural microbial agents.
Liu et al. (Sun,) studied this question.