Acetic acid modulates rhizosphere microbial communities to improve temperature stress resistance in dioecious Salix myrtillacea-for fungi
Dioecious plants show sexual dimorphism in responses to abiotic stresses. However, the effects of temperature stresses on the growth of female and male plants, as well as on their rhizospheric microbiomes, along with the mechanisms through which exogenous acetic acid (AA) application alleviates stress, remain unclear. Our study aimed to investigate the impact of high temperature and low temperature stresses on the growth, physiological traits, and rhizosphere microbial communities of dioecious Salix myrtillacea. We also explored how AA application mitigate stresses. Female willows demonstrated greater resistance to both high and low temperature stresses when compared with males, as evident in plant growth (phenotype, leaf anatomy and photosynthesis), and leaf physiology (antioxidant enzyme activity, hormone accumulation, and nutrient uptake). Furthermore, the addition of AA had a significant alleviating effect on stress in both sexes. Compared with high temperatures, plants showed better adaptation to low temperatures, as the stress intensity significantly decreased. Sex-specific differences were also observed in the composition of rhizosphere microbial communities. Particularly, with the application of AA, the relative abundance of microorganisms at phylum level (eg. Bacteroidetes, Chloroflexi and Acidobacteria) changed to support carbon uptake and storage and enhance stress tolerance in females. In contrast, males exhibited a strongly association with fungi to maintain stability. This study provides novel insights into how plant physiological plasticity and soil microbial interactions mediate sex-specific responses to temperature stresses. Additionally, it highlights that AA application can enhance temperature tolerance. This project is for fungal raw sequence data.