Cold plasma treatment of<i>Arabidopsis thaliana</i>(L.) seeds modulates plant-associated microbiome composition

Abstract

The objective of this study was to establish changes in the composition of plant-associated microbiome of Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) induced by cold plasma (CP) treatment of seeds. Metagenomic analysis revealed that growth-stimulating CP treatment largely reduced the abundance of actinobacteria of Mycobacteriaceae family, resulting in the domination of Bacillaceae in germinated seedlings. Changes in the composition of mature plant microbiota were mainly manifested by the enhanced relative abundance of Sinobacteraceae and Nocardiaceae as well as Pseudomonadaceae, Paenibacillaceae and Alcaligenaceae families which include the common rhizosphere and growth-promoting bacteria.