Patterns of yeast diversity distribution and its drivers in rhizosphere soil of Hami melon orchards in different regions of Xinjiang

BACKGROUND: The unique climatic conditions of the Xinjiang region nurture rich melon and fruit resources, the melon and fruit sugar sources provide sufficient nutrients for the survival of yeast, and the diverse habitats accompanied by extreme climatic conditions promote the production of yeast diversity and strain resources. However, the relationship between yeast species and their relationship with environmental factors in the soil of Xinjiang specialty cash crop Hami melon is not clear. Here, we aimed to characterize the diversity, community structure, and relationship between yeast species and environmental factors in Hami melon orchards soils in different regions of Xinjiang, China. RESULTS: Based on Illumina MiSeq high-throughput sequencing analysis of the D1 domain of the LSU rRNA genes, the community richness of yeast in the soil of Northern Xinjiang was higher than in the Southern and Eastern Xinjiang, but the community diversity was significantly lower in the Northern Xinjiang than in the Southern and Eastern Xinjiang. A total of 86 OTUs were classified into 59 genera and 86 species. Most OTUs (90.4%) belonged to the Basidiomycota; only a few (9.6%) belonged to Ascomycota. The most dominant species in the Southern, Eastern and Northern Xinjiang were Filobasidium magnum (17.90%), Solicoccozyma aeria (35.83%) and Filobasidium magnum (75.36%), respectively. Principal coordinates analysis (PCoA) showed that the yeast community composition in the soils of the three regions were obviously different, with the Southern and Eastern Xinjiang having more similar yeast community. Redundancy analysis (RDA) showed that soil factors such as conductivity (CO), total phosphorus (TP) and Total potassium (TK) and climate factors such as average annual precipitation (PRCP), relative humidity (RH) and net solar radiation intensity (SWGNT) were significantly correlated with yeast communities (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: There are abundant yeast resources in the rhizosphere soil of Hami melon orchard in Xinjiang, and there are obvious differences in the diversity and community structure of yeast in the three regions of Xinjiang. Differences in climatic factors related to precipitation, humidity and solar radiation intensity and soil factors related to conductivity, total phosphorus and total potassium are key factors driving yeast diversity and community structure. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12866-021-02222-1.