Comparative 16S rRNA metagenomic study of rhizosphere microbial diversity in mustard and green gram cultivars
The rhizosphere is a biologically active soil zone surrounding plant roots that supports diverse microbial communities essential for nutrient cycling, soil fertility, plant growth promotion, and disease suppression. Understanding rhizospheric microbial diversity is important for sustainable crop production and microbiome-based agricultural improvement.This study investigates the rhizospheric soil microbial communities associated with mustard cultivar (Brassica juncea) and green gram cultivar (Vigna radiata) using 16S rRNA amplicon metagenomic sequencing. Rhizospheric soil samples were collected from cultivated agricultural fields under controlled agronomic conditions in Odisha, India.Total metagenomic DNA was extracted from rhizospheric soil samples and subjected to high-throughput sequencing targeting bacterial 16S rRNA hypervariable regions. Sequencing was performed using the Illumina platform, followed by quality filtering, read trimming, and downstream bioinformatics analysis for taxonomic classification and diversity assessment.The objectives of this study are:To characterize rhizospheric microbial diversity in mustard and green gram cultivarsTo compare microbial community composition between both crop rhizospheresTo identify beneficial plant growth-promoting microbial taxaTo understand crop-specific microbial ecological differencesThis study will provide insights into rhizosphere microbiome dynamics and contribute to the development of sustainable agricultural strategies through microbiome-based soil management.