A minimal two-member cross-kingdom wheat-rhizosphere SynCom, named TB by Zhou et al. 2026, that mixed Trichoderma harzianum T19 with Bacillus rugosus PM16 and was soil-drenched onto Fusarium-pseudograminearum-challenged Triticum aestivum cv. Hechun 213 seedlings. The controlled tissue-culture-chamber pot experiment tested sterile-water, Fusarium-only, SynCom-only, and Fusarium-plus-SynCom treatments in non-sterile topsoil; after 45 days the authors scored wheat crown rot, profiled rhizosphere 16S/ITS communities, and measured rhizosphere metabolites.
Taxonomy
| Taxon | Ontology ID | Functional Roles | Abundance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trichoderma harzianum T19 — ontology label: Trichoderma harzianum | NCBITaxon:5544 · TaxonMech · TraitMech |
PATHOGEN_ANTAGONIST
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N/A |
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| Bacillus rugosus PM16 — ontology label: Bacillus rugosus | NCBITaxon:2715209 · TaxonMech · TraitMech |
PATHOGEN_ANTAGONIST
|
N/A |
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Ecological Interactions
The graph shows only explicitly linked interaction participants. Community members without an asserted participant link are omitted; membership alone does not imply an interaction.
Fusarium pseudograminearum WCR suppression by TB
The two-member T19/PM16 TB inoculum suppressed Fusarium pseudograminearum crown rot in controlled wheat pots, with reported biocontrol efficacy of 70.97% and improved biomass, chlorophyll and yield-related traits. The listed fungus is the challenge organism, not a TB member. These positive whole-inoculum outcomes do not establish bilateral competition, reciprocal microbial benefit or a unique immune mechanism. The plant experiment has no single-member treatment that isolates each member contribution.
Participating Taxa: Trichoderma harzianum T19, Bacillus rugosus PM16, Fusarium pseudograminearum Fp-XJ-07
Biological Processes:
- defense response to fungus (GO:0050832 · PathwayMech)
Evidence
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PMID:41821943 - SUPPORT (IN_VIVO)"The SynCom significantly suppressed WCR and promoted wheat growth under pathogen pressure, improving biomass, chlorophyll content, and yield-related traits."
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PMID:41821943 - SUPPORT (IN_VIVO)"with a biocontrol efficacy of 70.97%"
TB-associated rhizosphere remodeling
TB treatment changed rhizosphere DNA-based community profiles, including relative enrichment of Mortierella and reduced pathogen-associated fungi. Relative sequence abundance does not establish absolute viable abundance or strain-resolved persistence of T19/PM16. Genus annotations and correlation networks do not establish beneficial function, nutrient exchange or microbial necessity. Network robustness was assessed by simulated node removal, not biological removal experiments. Remodeling is not isolated as the cause of the positive disease-control outcome.
Evidence
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PMID:41821943 - SUPPORT (IN_VIVO)"SynCom inoculation remodeled the rhizosphere microbiome by enriching beneficial taxa (e.g., Mortierella) and reducing pathogen-associated fungi"
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PMID:41821943 - SUPPORT (OTHER)"Hub-targeted simulations showed a similar trend"
Associated Datasets
| Dataset | Type | Repository | Accession |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Wheat rhizosphere bacterial amplicon BioProject
NCBI BioProject for full-length 16S rRNA sequencing of wheat rhizosphere soil from the TB SynCom/Fusarium pot experiment. |
AMPLICON_16S | NCBI_BIOPROJECT | PRJNA1320663 |
|
Wheat rhizosphere fungal amplicon BioProject
NCBI BioProject for full-length ITS sequencing of wheat rhizosphere soil from the TB SynCom/Fusarium pot experiment. |
AMPLICON_ITS | NCBI_BIOPROJECT | PRJNA1320686 |
|
Wheat rhizosphere soil metabolomics MetaboLights study
EBI MetaboLights study for soil LC-MS metabolomics profiles from the TB SynCom/Fusarium wheat rhizosphere experiment. |
METABOLOMICS | METABOLIGHTS | MTBLS12945 |
Knowledge gaps & discussions (1)
KNOWLEDGE_GAP OPEN Which TB-dependent mechanisms explain protection beyond correlated community and soil-metabolite changes?
T19 plate inhibition and PM16 growth-promoting screens support separate traits; compatibility is not reciprocal fitness or proof of synergy in the host. Soil metabolites were measured, not directly collected root exudates. The paper explicitly limits daidzein origin and recruitment claims; quorum sensing and volatile effects remain working hypotheses. Structural-equation paths and simulated network attacks are not selective biological perturbations. Do not transfer exogenous-metabolite validation from the distinct six-strain SMC study.
Attaches to: ecological_interactions#Fusarium pseudograminearum WCR suppression by TB, ecological_interactions#TB-associated rhizosphere remodeling
1 evidence item(s)
these QS- and volatile-mediated effects are proposed as working hypotheses and were not directly tested in the present study.
External Resources
| Name | Repository | Resource ID |
|---|---|---|
|
Primary publication - TB wheat crown-rot SynCom
Frontiers in Plant Science study reporting the two-member TB SynCom, wheat crown-rot pot experiment, 16S/ITS amplicon sequencing, and rhizosphere metabolomics. |
OTHER | PMID:41821943 |
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Growth Media
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