Quorum sensing mediated bacterial interspecies communication in soybean rhizosphere

Rhizosphere bacteria play an important role in plant development, growth, and health. Quorum sensing (QS) is an important microbial communication method although to what extent it is used for interspecies communication within rhizosphere microbiome, and its role in plant fitness is unknown. Using shotgun metagenomic sequencing, we identified that several QS systems such as AHL, HSQ, and COM class were highly enriched in soybean rhizosphere as compared to the bulk soil. Some of the identified AHL molecules induce plant growth promoting traits, such as phosphate solubilization, nitrogen fixation, indole acetic acid and siderophores production.