Background

Complex plant-microbe interactions have been established throughout evolutionary time, many of them with beneficial effects on the host in terms of plant growth, nutrition, or health. Some of the corresponding modes of action involve a modulation of plant hormonal balance, such as the deamination of the ethylene precursor 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC). Despite its ecological importance, our understanding of ACC deamination is impaired by a lack of direct molecular tools. Here, we developed PCR primers to quantify the ACC deaminase gene acdS and its mRNA in soil communities and assessed acdS⁺ microorganisms colonizing maize and other Poaceae species.

Results

Effective acdS primers suitable for soil microbial communities were obtained, enabling recovery of bona fida acdS genes and transcripts of diverse genetic backgrounds. High numbers of acdS genes and transcripts were evidenced in the rhizosphere of Poaceae, and numbers fluctuated according to plant genotype. Illumina sequencing revealed taxonomic specificities of acdS⁺ microorganisms according to plant host. The phylogenetic distance between Poaceae genotypes correlated with acdS transcript numbers, but not with acdS gene numbers or the genetic distance between acdS functional groups.

Conclusion

The development of acdS primers enabled the first direct analysis of ACC deaminase functional group in soil and showed that plant ability to interact with soil-inhabiting acdS⁺ microorganisms could also involve particular plant traits unrelated to the evolutionary history of Poaceae species.