Evaluation of combined root exudate and rhizosphere microbiota sampling approaches to elucidate plant-soil-microbe interaction
Authors: Escudero-Martinez, C., Browne, E. Y., Schwalm, H., Santangeli, M., Brown, M., Brown, L., Roberts, D. M., Duff, A. M., Morris, J., Hedley, P. E., Thorpe, P., Abbott, J. C., Brennan, F., Bulgarelli, D., George, T. S., Oburger, E.
The study benchmarked several sampling approaches for simultaneous profiling of root exudates and rhizosphere microbiota in soil-grown barley, revealing consistent exudate chemistry across methods but variation in root morphology and nitrogen exudation. High‑throughput amplicon sequencing and quantitative PCR showed protocol‑specific impacts on microbial composition, yet most rhizosphere-enriched microbes were captured by all approaches. The authors conclude that different protocols provide comparable integrated data, though methodological differences must be aligned with experimental objectives.