Rice root-associated microbiome in western Burkina Faso

Root-associated microbiome was characterized in rice sampled in small farmers fields in western Burkina Faso though 16S and ITS metabarcoding approach.We investigate whether rice roots from contrasted rice growing systems inhabit differential microbial communities, with the following hypothesis: rice grown in irrigated conditions inhabit different microbial communities in their roots, compared to rainfed lowland areas.The study sites are located in three geographic zones in western Burkina Faso (Bama, Banzon, Karfiguela). Each zone comprises two sites with contrasted rice growing systems: one irrigated area and the neighboring rainfed lowland. This resulted in a total of six study sites.Within each site, three to four fields were sampled (total of 19 fields), with the collection of three plants per rice field. These three plants per field were analyzed independently for 16S sequencing (plant-level analysis) whereas they were pooled for ITS analyses (field-level analysis).