Rhizosphere metatranscriptome Transcriptome. Rhizosphere metatranscriptome

The rhizosphere microbiome is vital for plant health, yet microbial functions driving rhizosphere dynamics remain understudied. Metatranscriptomics offers insights into microbial activity but faces challenges like extracting high-quality RNA from complex soil matrices and removing abundant ribosomal RNA (rRNA) to focus on messenger RNA (mRNA). Conventional methods struggle with effective rRNA depletion in mixed microbial communities. To address this, we developed an optimized RNA extraction and universal rRNA depletion method for soybean rhizosphere microbes. Illumina sequencing confirmed efficient rRNA removal, enabling transcript assembly to evaluate microbial functions. This method advances soil health assessments and plant-microbe interaction studies.