Plants have a close relationship with their root microbiota, which comprises a complex microbial network. Histone methylation is an important epigenetic modification influencing multiple plant traits; however, little is known about the role of plant histone methylation in the assembly and network structure of the root microbiota. In this study, we established that the rice (Oryza sativa) histone methylation regulates the structure and composition of the root microbiota, especially the hub species in the microbial network. DJ-jmj703 (defective in histone H3K4 demethylation) and ZH11-sdg714 (defective in H3K9 methylation) showed significant different root microbiota compared with the corresponding wild types at the phylum and family levels, with a consistent increase in the abundance of Betaproteobacteria and a decrease in the Firmicutes. In the root microbial network, 35 of 44 hub species in the top 10 modules in the tested field were regulated by at least one histone methylation-related gene. These observations establish that the rice histone methylation plays a pivotal role in regulating the assembly of the root microbiota, providing insights into the links between plant epigenetic regulation and root microbiota.

植物与其根系微生物群有着密切的关系，根系微生物群包含一个复杂的微生物网络。组蛋白甲基化是影响多种植物性状的重要表观遗传修饰；然而，关于植物组蛋白甲基化在根系微生物群的组装和网络结构中的作用知之甚少。在这项研究中，我们确定水稻（Oryza sativa）组蛋白甲基化调节根系微生物群的结构和组成，尤其是微生物网络中的枢纽物种。DJ -jmj703（组蛋白 H3K4 去甲基化缺陷）和 ZH11 -sdg714（H3K9 甲基化缺陷）与相应的野生型相比，在门和科水平上显示出显着不同的根微生物群，其中 Betaproteobacteria 的丰度持续增加，而厚壁菌门的减少。在根微生物网络中，测试领域前 10 个模块中的 44 个中心物种中有 35 个受至少一个组蛋白甲基化相关基因的调控。这些观察结果表明，水稻组蛋白甲基化在调节根系微生物群的组装中起着关键作用，为植物表观遗传调控与根系微生物群之间的联系提供了见解。