Altitudinal variation in rhizosphere microbial communities of the endangered plant Lilium tsingtauense and the environmental factors driving this variation

Abstract

Our study highlighted the importance of the rhizosphere microbial community of the endangered plant L. tsingtauense . We found that soil pH plays an important role in the survival of L. tsingtauense . Our results demonstrated that a series of microbial taxa (Acidobacteriales, Xanthobacteraceae, Aspergillaceae, and Chaetomiaceae) and soil metabolites (phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylserine) could be essential indicators for L. tsingtauense habitat. We also found that some environmental factors play an important role in shaping rhizosphere microbial community structure. Collectively, these results provided new insights into the altitudinal distribution of L. tsingtauense and highlight the importance of microbial communities in their growth.