Rhizosphere microbiome of plants growing in contaminated sediments.

In this study, we tested whether repeated bioaugmentation with Proteobacteria influenced plant productivity and the rhizosphere microbial communities associated with four plant species growing in sediments contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons. MiSeq amplicon sequencing, targeting the bacterial 16S rRNA gene and the fungal ITS, was used to assess microbial community structures of sediments from planted or unplanted microcosms. Our results showed that while bioaugmentation caused a significant shift in microbial communities, presence of plant and their species identity had a stronger influence on the structure of the microbiome in petroleum hydrocarbons contaminated sediments. The outcome of this study provides knowledge on the diversity and behavior of rhizosphere microbes associated with indigenous plants following repeated bioaugmentation, underlining the importance of plant selection in order to facilitate their efficient management, and accelerate processes of land reclamation.