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Ammonium enhances soil organic phosphorus conversion by regulating phoC- and phoD-harboring bacteria

Chunquan Zhu1*#, Yulian Yan1*, Qinshan Xu1, Yali Kong1, Hangfeng Wang1, Chunxin Chi1, Shangpan Li1, Lianfeng Zhu1, Xiaoxia Liu2, Jie Wang2, Xiaochuang Cao1, Wenhao Tian1, Jingwang Li1, Qiaoling Li1, Junhua Zhang1#

1 State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology, China National Rice Research Institute, Hangzhou 310006, China 

2 Zhejiang Cultivated Land Quality and Fertilizer Administration Station, Hangzhou 310020, China

Highlights

· Ammonium improved the conversion of soil moderately labile organic P into labile organic P.

· Ammonium enhanced acid phosphatase activity, increased phoC gene abundance, and regulated the community structure of phoC-harboring bacteria.

· Soil pH was a key driver of bacterial community composition.

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摘要  

与硝态氮相比,铵态氮能够促进水稻磷吸收和再利用,然而其内在调控机制仍不明确为了探究缺磷条件下铵态氮促进土壤有机磷释放的作用机制本研究采用盆栽试验,连续5进行以下处理:NH₄⁺+P(施加铵态氮,施用磷肥)NH₄⁺-P(施加铵态氮,不施磷肥)NO₃⁻+P(施加硝态氮,施用磷肥)NO₃⁻-P(施加硝态氮,不施磷肥)。结果显示,与NO₃⁻-P处理相比,NH₄⁺-P处理显著提高了水稻生长产量地上部总磷含量促进了土壤活性有机磷向活性有机磷的转化提高了水稻根际土壤有效磷含量。此外,与NO₃⁻-P处理相比,NH₄⁺-P处理显著提高了水稻根际土壤酸性磷酸酶活性及其功能基因phoC的表达水平。虽然NO₃⁻-P处理中土壤碱性磷酸酶功能基因phoD表达量显著高于NH₄⁺-P处理,但两个处理间土壤碱性磷酸酶活性无显著差异。与NO₃⁻-P处理相比,NH₄⁺-P处理显著提高了携带phoC细菌群落Shannon指数、Chao1指数、基于丰度的覆盖估计量(abundance-based coverage estimator, ACE)以及观测物种数(observed species)等α多样性指标,而携带phoD基因细菌群落的α多样性指标在NH₄⁺-PNO₃⁻-P处理之间无显著差异。在缺磷条件下,与硝态氮相比,铵态氮对携带phoC基因SerratiaRaoultellaStenotrophomonas具有更强的富集作用;同时促进了携带phoD基因细菌的MesorhizobiumRalstoniaRhizobacter等优势类群的富集。土壤pH是显著影响phoCphoD基因携带菌丰度的主要环境因子。综上,铵态氮通过调控携带phoCphoD基因的溶磷细菌群落结构,促进土壤有机磷转化为有效磷土壤pH是驱动功能菌群落组成变化的关键因素。



Abstract  

Ammonium facilitates higher absorption and remobilization of phosphorus (P) in rice compared with nitrate nitrogen; however, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. In the present study, a five-year pot experiment was conducted with ammonium or nitrate applied with or without P fertilizer (NH4++P, NH4+-P, NO3-+P and NO3--P) to investigate the mechanisms by which ammonium enhances organic P release under P-deficient conditions. The results showed that rice growth and yield, together with total aboveground P content, were significantly higher in the NH4+-P treatment than in the NO3--P treatment. Treatment with NH4+-P improved the transfer of moderately labile organic P to labile organic P, thereby enhancing the available P content in the rhizosphere soil of rice. In addition, the acid phosphatase activity and the expression of related genes (phoC) in the rhizosphere soil of rice was significantly higher in the NH4+-P treatment than in the NO3--P treatment. In contrast, alkaline phosphatase activity did not different significantly between the NH4+-P and NO3--P treatments, although the expression of its related gene (phoD) was significantly higher in the NO3--P treatment than in the NH4+-P treatment. The α-diversity indices, such as Shannon, Chao1, abundance-based coverage estimator (ACE) and observed species, of phoC-harboring bacteria were significantly higher under the NH4+-P treatment than under the NO3-P treatment, whereas no significant differences in α-diversity were observed for phoD-harboring bacteria between these two treatments. Under P-deficient conditions, ammonium had a stronger effect than nitrate on the enrichment of Serratia, Raoultella, and Stenotrophomonas among the phoC-harboring bacteria, as well as Mesorhizobium, Ralstonia, and Rhizobacter among phoD-harboring bacteria. Soil pH was the primary environmental factor significantly influencing the abundance of both phoC- and phoD-harboring bacteria. In conclusion, ammonium was associated with enhanced available P from organic P by regulating the community structure of phoC- and phoD-harboring phosphorus-solubilizing bacteria, with soil pH acting as a key driver of community composition.

Keywords:  ammonium nitrogen              nitrate nitrogen              phosphorus deficiency stress              phosphate-solubilizing bacteria              organophosphate  
Online: 07 September 2026  
Fund: 

This study was supported by National Key Research and Development Program of China (2023YFD1902905 and 2022YFD1500403), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31901452 and 32201702), the Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (LQK26C150003), the Central Public-interest Scientific Institution Basal Research Fund, China (No.11).

About author:  #Correspondences Chunquan Zhu, E-mail: zhuchunquan@caas.cn; Junhua Zhang, E-mail: zhangjunhua@caas.cn * These authors contributed equally to this study.

Cite this article: 

Chunquan Zhu, Yulian Yan, Qinshan Xu, Yali Kong, Hangfeng Wang, Chunxin Chi, Shangpan Li, Lianfeng Zhu, Xiaoxia Liu, Jie Wang, Xiaochuang Cao, Wenhao Tian, Jingwang Li, Qiaoling Li, Junhua Zhang. 2026.

Ammonium enhances soil organic phosphorus conversion by regulating phoC- and phoD-harboring bacteria . Journal of Integrative Agriculture, Doi:10.1016/j.jia.2026.09.013

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