Wild rice Oryza rufipogon outperforms cultivated rice in stimulating beneficial bacterial endophytes.
Vaccaro, F.; Amenta, M. L.; Passeri, I.; Fagorzi, C.; Varriale, S.; Pencik, A.; Petrik, I.; Brunoni, F.; Brambilla, V.; Rossoni, A.; Mica, E.; Vale, G.; Perrin, E.; Mengoni, A.; Defez, R.; Bianco, C.
Soil Health
Wild rice growing along riverbanks and wetland edges has spent millennia perfecting a hidden partnership with soil bacteria — a partnership our fields of cultivated rice have largely lost, and that researchers now think we can reclaim.
Plants can recruit helpful bacteria to live inside their roots, boosting growth and health naturally. Scientists compared how well wild rice versus farmed rice activated two strains of these helpful bacteria, and found that wild rice was dramatically better at switching the bacteria into their most active, beneficial mode. This points to a real opportunity: bring those lost wild traits back into crop breeding to grow rice with less chemical input.
Key Findings
The wild rice ancestor Oryza rufipogon more strongly activated beneficial bacterial endophyte Kosakonia sacchari RCA25 than either cultivated Italian rice variety tested.
The two bacterial strains responded differently to rice root signals — one (Enterobacter asburiae RCA24) triggered broader gene-expression changes in the plant itself, particularly in defense and hormone signaling pathways in shoots.
Domestication and crop diversification appear to have eroded plant traits that foster beneficial microbial associations, suggesting targeted reintroduction of wild-rice genetic material could improve sustainable field performance.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Wild rice — the ancient ancestor of our cultivated rice — is far better at attracting and activating beneficial soil bacteria than modern farmed varieties. This suggests that breeding programs drove out microbial-friendly traits, and those traits could potentially be bred back in to reduce the need for fertilizers and pesticides.
Abstract Preview
Beneficial interactions between plants and microorganisms strongly influence plant health and productivity, and root exudates play a central role in shaping these associations. This study analyzed ...
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Wild rice, also called manoomin, mnomen, psíŋ, Canada rice, Indian rice, or water oats, is any of four species of grasses that form the genus Zizania, and the grain that can be harvested from them. The grain was historically and is still gathered and eaten in North America and, to a lesser extent...