@article{hu_cyle_yuan_shi_2024, title={Soil dependence of biochar composts in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions: An overlooked biophysical mechanism}, volume={198}, ISSN={["1873-0272"]}, DOI={10.1016/j.apsoil.2024.105374}, abstractNote={Biochar-manure co-compost (BM) has garnered considerable attention as a promising soil amendment for improving nutrient retention and mitigating the emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs). However, its efficacy often varies largely from one soil to another. By comparing soil CO2 and N2O effluxes, solution chemistry, enzyme activities, and the abundances of N-cycle genes between BM and manure compost (M) across three soils of different texture classes through microcosm incubations, we aimed to develop biophysical mechanics to untangle the soil-dependent efficacy of BM in mediating soil carbon and nitrogen transformation processes. Compared to M addition, BM addition significantly reduced soil CO2 and N2O emissions, but its effectiveness was soil texture-dependent, being strongest for CO2 and N2O in fine-textured clay loam and coarse-textured sand, respectively. Such soil texture-dependent effects of BM versus M were also observed in soil enzyme activities and gene copy numbers of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria and denitrifiers. Our datasets suggest that BM interacted strongly with soil texture to modulate the pore scale-based diffusion of oxygen, thereby creating divergence in the aeration status among soils. Sequentially, soil phenol oxidase activity was greater in BM than in M under more aerobic conditions but no difference between BM and M in oxygen-limited soils. The balance between oxygen depletion due to microbial respiration of organic amendments and oxygen diffusion through soil/biochar pores also shaped the activities of nitrifying and denitrifying prokaryotes differently between coarse- and fine-textured soils. This logic model well-explained the magnitude of change in soil-dependent CO2 and N2O emissions from organic amendments. The knowledge gained in this work will likely have profound practical ramifications for optimizing BM efficacy in mitigating the GHGs emission.}, journal={APPLIED SOIL ECOLOGY}, author={Hu, Jialin and Cyle, K. Taylor and Yuan, Wenqiao and Shi, Wei}, year={2024}, month={Jun} }
 @article{hu_miller_shi_2023, title={Abundance, diversity, and composition of root-associated microbial communities varied with tall fescue cultivars under water deficit}, volume={13}, ISSN={["1664-302X"]}, DOI={10.3389/fmicb.2022.1078836}, abstractNote={The plant breeding program has developed many cultivars of tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) with low maintenance and stress tolerance. While the root-associated microbial community helps confer stress tolerance in the host plant, it is still largely unknown how the microbiota varies with plant cultivars under water stress. The study aimed to characterize drought-responsive bacteria and fungi in the roots and rhizosphere of different tall fescue cultivars. Intact grass-soil cores were collected from six cultivars grown in a field trial under no-irrigation for 3 years. Tall fescue under irrigation was also sampled from an adjacent area as the contrast. Bacterial and fungal communities in roots, rhizosphere, and bulk soil were examined for abundance, diversity, and composition using quantitative-PCR and high-throughput amplicon sequencing of 16S rRNA gene and ITS regions, respectively. Differences in microbial community composition and structure between non-irrigated and irrigated samples were statistically significant in all three microhabitats. No-irrigation enriched Actinobacteria in all three microhabitats, but mainly enriched Basidiomycota in the root endosphere and only Glomeromycota in bulk soil. Tall fescue cultivars slightly yet significantly modified endophytic microbial communities. Cultivars showing better adaptability to drought encompassed more relatively abundant Actinobacteria, Basidiomycota, or Glomeromycota in roots and the rhizosphere. PICRUSt2-based predictions revealed that the relative abundance of functional genes in roots related to phytohormones, antioxidant enzymes, and nutrient acquisition was enhanced under no-irrigation. Significant associations between Streptomyces and putative drought-ameliorating genes underscore possible mechanics for microbes to confer tall fescue with water stress tolerance. This work sheds important insight into the potential use of endophytic microbes for screening drought-adaptive genotypes and cultivars.}, journal={FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY}, author={Hu, Jialin and Miller, Grady and Shi, Wei}, year={2023}, month={Jan} }
 @article{hu_cyle_miller_shi_2023, title={Water deficits shape the microbiome of Bermudagrass roots to be Actinobacteria rich}, volume={99}, ISSN={["1574-6941"]}, url={https://doi.org/10.1093/femsec/fiad036}, DOI={10.1093/femsec/fiad036}, abstractNote={Abstract}, number={5}, journal={FEMS MICROBIOLOGY ECOLOGY}, author={Hu, Jialin and Cyle, K. Taylor and Miller, Grady and Shi, Wei}, year={2023}, month={Apr} }