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Microbiota Shifts in Vicia faba Exposed to Microcystin-Contaminated Water
* 1, 2 , 3, 4 , 5 , 5 , 6 , 6, 7 , 3 , 1, 8 , 6 , 1 , 1 , 6, 7 , 1
1  Water, Biodiversity and Climate Change Laboratory, Phycology, Biotechnology and Environmental Toxicology Research Unit, Faculty of Sciences Semlalia Marrakech, Cadi Ayyad University, P.O. Box 2390, 40000 Marrakech, Morocco
2  UMR-I 02 INERIS-URCA-ULH SEBIO, Stress Environnementaux et BIOsurveillance des Milieux Aquatiques, Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne, Campus du Moulin de la Housse, BP 1039, 51687 Reims, CEDEX, France
3  Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Industriales, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (ETSII-UPM), Madrid 28006, Spain.
4  Departamento de Genética y Microbiología, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Murcia, Campus de Espinardo, Murcia 30100, Spain.
5  BIAM-LEMIRE, Laboratory of Microbial Ecology of the Rhizosphere, UMR 7265, Aix-Marseille Université, CEA, CNRS, Saint Paul-Lez-Durance, France
6  CIIMAR, Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research, Terminal de Cruzeiros do Porto de Leixões, Matosinhos 4450-208, Portugal.
7  Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto, Porto 4169-007, Portugal
8  National Institute of Public Health, Ministry of Health and Fight Against AIDS, Bujumbura, Burundi
Academic Editor: Mingce Long

Abstract:

Microcystins (MCs), common toxins produced during cyanobacterial blooms, are frequently found in water sources used for irrigation, leading to their introduction into agricultural environments. While MCs are well-known for their toxic effects on plant growth and physiology, their influence on plant-associated microbial communities remains underexplored. To address this gap, we studied how exposure to 100 µg/L of MCs affects the bacterial microbiota inhabiting bulk soil (BS), root-adhering soil (RAS), and root tissue (RT) in Vicia faba using a greenhouse pot experiment. Our findings revealed that MC exposure significantly altered the microbial community structure, co-occurrence patterns, and assembly mechanisms, with the most pronounced changes observed in RT microbiota, followed by BS and then RAS. Notably, MCs caused a marked decline in several Actinobacteriota taxa within RT, particularly members of the genus Streptomyces, which are commonly associated with plant health. In contrast, the abundance of certain Proteobacteria, including Methylobacillus, Methylotenera, and Paucibacter, genera potentially involved in MC degradation, increased under MC treatment. Network analysis showed a reduction in microbial co-occurrence complexity in MC-exposed conditions compared to the control. Moreover, community assembly in RT appeared to be predominantly governed by deterministic processes, while both deterministic and stochastic processes influenced BS and RAS microbiota, with a stronger deterministic trend overall. These results suggest that MCs may reshape the microbiota structure in the soil-plant system by reducing bacterial taxa with potential phytobeneficial traits and increasing other taxa with a potential capacity to degrade MCs.

Keywords: Microcystins, Water contamination, Vicia faba, Rhizosphere, Microbiota, Microbial turnover
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