16S rRNA sequencing of sugarcane rhizosphere from low- and high- productivity fields.

Sugarcane (Saccharum sp.) is an important energy crop cultivated around the globe in tropical climates. Rhizosphere microbial communities are responsible for acquiring nutrients, maintaining soil fertility, as well as contribute to plant health. The 16S rRNA sequencing appears as important tool for understanding the rhizosphere microbial diversity. In this study, sugarcane rhizosphere microbial communities from high-yielding (HP) (Hasanpur) and low-yielding (LP) (Khalikpur) fields from Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh near the Ganga basin were compared. Nutrient profiling of the two soils showed that the high-yielding soil was enriched in nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. QIIME2 and Picrust2 were utilized to understand microbial diversity and perform functional enrichment. The study showed significant variations in the abundance of bacteria from Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, Patescibacteria, Firmicutes, Plantomycetota and uncultured Vicinamibacteraceae family. At the genera level, Lactobacillus (~8%) TM7a group from Saccharimonadaceae (~6.64%), and Escherichia-Shigella group (~6.1%) were higher in high yielding soil, whereas uncultured bacteria from Vicinamibacteraceae family (~7.32%) and Vicinamibacterales order (~6.13%) were more abundant in low-yielding rhizosphere.