Publication - Soil depth determines the microbial communities in Sorghum bicolor fields within a uniform regional environment.

Soil depth determines the microbial communities in Sorghum bicolor fields within a uniform regional environment.

Murray ER, Minich JJ, Saxton J, de Gracia M, Eck N, Allsing N, Kitony J, Patel-Jhawar K, Allen EE, Michael TP, Shakoor N

Published: 16 April 2025 in Microbiology spectrum

Keywords: 16S rRNA sequencing, Sorghum bicolor, agricultural microbiology, crop, depth-related microbial communities, microbial diversity, root mass, soil depth, soil microbiome, soil organic carbon

Pubmed ID: 40237469

DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.02928-24

Abstract

Sorghum bicolor, an important global crop, adapted to thrive in hotter and drier conditions than maize or rice, has deep roots that interact with a stratified soil microbiome that plays a crucial role in plant health, growth, and carbon storage. Microbiome studies on agricultural soils, particularly fields growing S. bicolor, have been mostly limited to surface soils (