Microbiome Dynamics of Rice and Tomato under Drought Stress and Recovery
This project investigates the effects of drought stress and recovery on plant-associated microbial communities in rice and tomato. Plants were grown in a pooled natural soil substrate to provide a diverse microbial background. Half of the plants were subjected to progressive drought stress followed by severe water deprivation, while the remaining plants were maintained under well-watered control conditions. After plants exhibited clear drought stress symptoms, irrigation was resumed to induce a recovery phase. Samples were collected at two time points: during the stress phase (control and drought-stressed plants) and after the recovery phase (control and previously stressed plants after rewatering). Rhizosphere and endosphere microbiomes were characterized using 16S rRNA gene and ITS amplicon sequencing to analyze bacterial and fungal community composition. In addition, the initial pooled soil substrate was sequenced to characterize the baseline microbial community present in the growth medium.