2026-06-18 ノースカロライナ州立大学（NCState）
＜関連情報＞
- https://news.ncsu.edu/2026/06/microbial-partners-may-help-plants-respond-to-higher-temperatures/
- https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nph.71297
GERMの調査：トウモロコシとソルガムの熱応答の根底にある遺伝子型、環境、根圏微生物叢の相互作用 Investigating GERMs: how genotype, environment, and rhizosphere microbiome interactions underlie heat response in maize and sorghum
Nate Korth, Isabella Borrero, Katelyn Rumley, Alex L. Woodley, Mallory J. Choudoir, Joseph L. Gage
New Phytologist Published: 26 May 2026
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.71297
Graphical Abstract
Three genotypes – a heat-resistant maize (Zea mays), a heat-susceptible maize, and a sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) variety – were grown to the V4 stage in growth chambers under optimal conditions or subjected to heat stress. Plants were grown in soil containing a complex microbial community, or in the same soil with a depleted microbiome. Total RNA from roots and root-associated microbes was sequenced, along with the 16S rRNA amplicon from both DNA and RNA. Plants were assigned a qualitative heat stress score based on size and leaf senescence (bottom right), as well as quantitative metrics, including biomass and root architecture.
Summary
- Plant responses to heat stress emerge from interactions among host genotype, environment, and the rhizosphere microbiome, yet most studies examine these components in isolation. We applied the Genotype × Environment × Rhizosphere Microbiomes (GERMs) framework to test how host–microbe coordination contributes to heat tolerance in cereal crops Zea mays and Sorghum bicolor.
- We analyzed maize and sorghum grown under optimal and heat-stressed conditions across contrasting soil treatments using integrated plant–microbial metatranscriptomics. Host and microbial gene expression profiles were jointly analyzed alongside microbiome composition and plant phenotypes and compared with amplicon-based profiling.
- Metatranscriptomics captured microbial community structure comparable to amplicon sequencing while providing enhanced functional and taxonomic resolution. Host genotype and temperature jointly shaped microbial functional profiles. Conserved plant orthologs across maize and sorghum were linked to microbial pathways, specifically microbial d-amino acid metabolism was associated with plant heat tolerance.
- These findings indicate the rhizosphere microbiome actively participates in plant heat stress responses through coordinated transcriptional interactions with the host. Integrating host and microbial transcriptomes reveals mechanistic insights into plant adaptation and establishes a framework for dissecting plant–microbiome interactions under environmental stress.
