Crucifer clubroot disease changes the microbial community structure of rhizosphere soil

To determine the effects of clubroot disease on microbial diversity of rhizosphere soils, the bacterial 16 S rDNA region and fungal ITS region from the rhizosphere soils of clubroot-infected and healthy Chinese cabbage were sequenced and analyzed to evaluate the microbial community composition and structure. Moreover, we also measured the physiochemical properties of the two groups of soil samples, aiming to establish the relationship among clubroot occurrence, microbial community structures, and soil environmental factors. Soil pH and the contents of total phosphorus, total potassium, available nitrogen, and available phosphorus were significantly lower in the rhizosphere soil of clubroot-infected Chinese cabbage than those of healthy plants, whereas the exchangeable calcium content was increased in diseased soil. The occurrence of clubroot significantly reduced the richness and diversity of bacterial populations but had no significant effect on the fungal alpha-diversity in rhizosphere soils. The dominant bacterial phyla for the two groups of soil samples were Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria, Acidobacteria, and Chloroflexi, of which Bacteroidetes had a higher abundance in the rhizosphere soil of clubroot-infected Chinese cabbage than that of healthy plants(P