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Allelochemical-mediated bacterial homogenization and its potential role in mitigating chemical stress induced by plant invasion in alpine meadows
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DOI：10.1016/j.apsoil.2026.107267.png)
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Abstract
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Biotic homogenization poses a major threat to biodiversity in fragile alpine meadows, yet its underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. We investigated the role of allelopathy in driving microbial homogenization and its functional consequences during plant invasion. Using the poisonous invasive plant Ligularia cymbulifera on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, we combined field comparisons with controlled pot experiments. Our field data showed that chemical homogenization in invaded soils was associated with bacterial community homogenization, with 4-hydroxybenzoic acid (PHBA) and benzoic acid identified as enriched compounds. In controlled pot experiments, PHBA addition consistently reduced microbial diversity variation, beta diversity, and network connectivity—mimicking field patterns—while concurrently inhibiting plant growth (P < 0.05). In sterilized soil, the growth rate of Trifolium repens decreased with increasing PHBA concentration, from 0.216 mg/d to 0.128 mg/d (P < 0.05). In contrast, in live soil, the presence of soil microbiota alleviated the inhibitory effect, and the reduction in growth rate was not statistically significant (P > 0.05). Additionally, the residual PHBA concentration in soil was significantly higher in the sterilized group than in the live soil group (P < 0.05). These results suggested that native soil microbiota could accelerate PHBA degradation, potentially mitigating phytotoxicity and contributing to plant growth. Metagenomic profiling identified Mycobacterium, Paraburkholderia, and Bradyrhizobium as candidate keystone taxa within the homogenized microbiome, which were enriched genes associated with xenobiotic degradation and phenolic metabolism (P < 0.05). Fungal responses were less consistent and generally weaker than bacterial responses. Our findings suggest that allelochemicals released by an invasive plant can filter and shape a specialized, homogenized bacterial communities, which in turn could degrade the allelochemicals and mitigates their stress—suggesting a potential eco-functional feedback loop. This mechanistic insight highlights the potential of leveraging in-situ microbial functions for the restoration of invaded alpine ecosystems, while acknowledging that direct evidence for long-term stabilization and the activity of specific degraders requires further experimental validation.
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