Exploring the sustainability of bioenergy crop candidates from a microbiome perspective

C4 perennial grasses have been considered as third-generation bioenergy crop candidates due to their fast growing of lignocellulosic biomass with little to no requirements of human inputs. To reduce competition with food crops, third-generation bioenergy crops are expected to colonize low quality lands where they need to withstand stresses including low nutrient supply and seasonal flooding. Therefore, it is a critical time to exploit the beneficial traits of plant-microbe interactions to compensate the potential biomass loss and increase crop performance when growing on marginal land, through plant breeding programs or microbial consortia inoculation practices. To successfully harness plant microbiome, we need to first identify the most consistent microbial helpers associated with different perennial grass candidates and the potential functions that the microbes perform. For example, plant microbiomes have exhibited the capacity of biological nitrogen fixation and nitrification suppression, helping increase nitrogen supply for plant hosts. In this study, five bioenergy feedstocks of perennial C4 grasses grown on seasonally flooding soil were investigated. DNA was extracted from root-zone soil samples of five different feedstock from 2020 and 2021 for microbiome analysis. We also measure the potentials of N cycling functions including nitrogen fixation and nitrification activities. We found that perennial energy crop candidates harbored distinct microbial communities from adjacent systems. The microbial genera enriched in the C4 perennial grass root zones, such as BD1-7 clade, Haliangium, MND1 and Paenibacillus, have been previously reported to enhance plant resistance of biotic and abiotic stresses and promote nutrient uptake. Moreover, the switchgrass cultivar Shawnee exhibited higher N sustainability by displaying significant higher biological nitrogen fixation potentials. Shawnee enriched diazotroph genera including Azoarcus, Geobacter and Anaeromyxobacter are commonly found in poorly drained soil systems, suggesting that these microbial partners may also help plants withstand flooding stress.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.S.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Natural Res & Env Sciences

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2022

Author dc:creator

• Duan, Danyang

Contributors dc:contributor

• Kent, Angela D.
• Lee, DoKyoung
• Yang, Wendy H.

• Bioenergy crop
• Plant microbiome
• Sustainable Production
• Soil nitrogen cycle

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2022, Danyang Duan

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/115950

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F115950