Metagenomic analysis of rhizosphere microbiome provides insights into occurrence of iron deficiency chlorosis in field of Asian pears

BACKGROUND: Fe-deficiency chlorosis (FDC) of Asian pear plants is widespread, but little is known about the association between the microbial communities in the rhizosphere soil and leaf chlorosis. The leaf mineral concentration, leaf subcellular structure, soil physiochemical properties, and bacterial species community and distribution had been analysed to gain insights into the FDC in Asian pear plant. RESULTS: The total Fe in leaves with Fe-deficiency was positively correlated with total K, Mg, S, Cu, Zn, Mo and Cl contents, but no differences of available Fe (AFe) were detected between the rhizosphere soil of chlorotic and normal plants. Degraded ribosomes and degraded thylakloid stacks in chloroplast were observed in chlorotic leaves. The annotated microbiome indicated that there were 5 kingdoms, 52 phyla, 94 classes, 206 orders, 404 families, 1,161 genera, and 3,043 species in the rhizosphere soil of chlorotic plants; it was one phylum less and one order, 11 families, 59 genera, and 313 species more than in that of normal plant. Bacterial community and distribution patterns in the rhizosphere soil of chlorotic plants were distinct from those of normal plants and the relative abundance and microbiome diversity were more stable in the rhizosphere soils of normal than in chlorotic plants. Three (Nitrospira defluvii, Gemmatirosa kalamazoonesis, and Sulfuricella denitrificans) of the top five species (N. defluvii, G. kalamazoonesis, S. denitrificans, Candidatus Nitrosoarchaeum koreensis, and Candidatus Koribacter versatilis). were the identical and aerobic in both rhizosphere soils, but their relative abundance decreased by 48, 37, and 22%, respectively, and two of them (G. aurantiaca and Ca. S. usitatus) were substituted by an ammonia-oxidizing soil archaeon, Ca. N. koreensis and a nitrite and nitrate reduction related species, Ca. K. versatilis in that of chlorotic plants, which indicated the adverse soil aeration in the rhizosphere soil of chlorotic plants. A water-impermeable tables was found to reduce the soil aeration, inhibit root growth, and cause some absorption root death from infection by Fusarium solani. CONCLUSIONS: It was waterlogging or/and poor drainage of the soil may inhibit Fe uptake not the amounts of AFe in the rhizosphere soil of chlorotic plants that caused FDC in this study. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12866-021-02432-7.