The belowground rhizosphere microbiome of Andean landrace potatoes resulted from foliar application of Fe. rhizosphere metagenome

Iron (Fe) is a crucial nutrient for plant growth and crop production, and though it is one of the most abundant elements in soil, very low bioavailability can limit plant growth. There is strong scientific support that soil microorganisms play an important role in nutrient availability, but less is known about iron. In this project, an Andean native potato landrace was grown in a greenhouse under Fe limitation and using three levels (Low, Medium, High) of foliar fertilization (FeEDDHA).Soil bacterial and fungal communities were examined using high-throughput sequencing of 16S and ITS regions of ribosomal RNA gene, respectively.The objective is to examine the impact of plant Fe nutritional status on the rhizosphere bacterial and fungal communities and to assess the soil microbes that may be impacted by potato Fe acquisition.