Summary Plant roots create specific microbial habitat in the soil – the rhizosphere. In this study, we characterized the rhizosphere microbiome of four host plant species to get insight into the impact of the host (host signature effect) on resident vs . active communities. Results show a distinct plant host specific signature found among wheat, maize, tomato and cucumber, based on the following three parameters: (i) each plan...

Summary Limited freshwater ( FW ) availability due to climate change and increasing global populations is driving agriculture in arid and semi‐arid regions to recycle vast quantities of water for irrigation. However, irrigation with treated wastewater ( TWW ), which contains dissolved organic matter, salts and microorganisms might alter soil microbial populations, and thus affect soil fertility. We characterized the effects of...

Summary Lignin biodegradation by white‐rot fungi is pivotal to the earth's carbon cycle. Manganese peroxidases ( MnP s), the most common extracellular ligninolytic peroxidases produced by white‐rot fungi, are considered key in ligninolysis. P leurotus ostreatus , the oyster mushroom, is a preferential lignin degrader occupying niches rich in lignocellulose such as decaying trees. Here, we provide direct, genetically based proo...

Summary Detailed analysis revealed fundamental differences between bacterial association with cucumber ( Cucumis sativus ) seeds and seedlings roots. Seed colonization by bacteria seems to result from passive encounter between bacteria, conveyed by imbibed soil solution, and the germinating seed. In accordance, the seed‐associated bacterial community composition directly reflected that of the germination medium and was charact...

A nationwide survey of New Zealand sapstain fungi on Pinus radiata was undertaken between 1996 and 1998 with collections of 1958 samples of material from 869 sites in the North and South Islands. Material was collected from mills, ports, forest plantations of native, exotic, or P. radiata , nurseries, farms, and urban areas. Material collected included branches, twigs, needles or leaves, cones, logs, wood chips, timber, and ve...

The white‐rot fungus Pleurotus ostreatus produces both manganese‐dependent peroxidase (MnP) and versatile peroxidase (VP) in non‐manganese‐amended peptone medium (PM). We studied the effect of Mn 2+ supplementation on MnPs and VPs in P. ostreatus by analysing the enzymatic and transcript abundance profiles of the peroxidases, as well as the lignin mineralization rate. The fungus was grown in PM under solid‐state conditions usi...