Dual effects of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) on the Moso bamboo-soil system: Plant growth promotion and microbial community stability

Understanding the effects of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) on Moso bamboo (Phyllostachys edulis) growth, soil nutrient and microbial community will help to improve the growth of Moso bamboo. In this study, an experiment was established to quantify the effects of PGPR inoculation on Moso bamboo growth. Soil phosphorus fraction, nutrient content, enzyme activity, microbial community and copy numbers of the phoA, phoD and phoN genes were also analyzed. The PGPR inoculations significantly increased the Moso bamboo biomass by 34.2 %− 108.9 % and improved soil nutrient contents and enzyme activities. In addition, the applications of PGPR significantly increased the diversity of soil microbial community but decreased the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes. The mixed bacterial inoculants helped to stabilize the soil microbial community. The functional genes related to phosphorus solubilization (phoA, phoD and phoN) had substantial effects on the activation of soil phosphorus fractions. The study showed that the applications of PGPR inoculations effectively improved microbial community stabilities and promoted the growth of Moso bamboo.