Li, YunliangVail, Sally L.Arcand, Melissa M.Helgason, Bobbi2023-10-042023-10-042023Li, Y., Vail, S. L., Arcand, M. M., & Helgason, B. L. (2023). Contrasting Nitrogen Fertilization and Brassica napus (Canola) Variety Development Impact Recruitment of the Root-Associated Microbiome. Phytobiomes Journal, 7(1), 125–137. https://doi.org/10.1094/PBIOMES-07-22-0045-R/ASSET/IMAGES/LARGE/PBIOMES-07-22-0045-RF4.JPEGhttps://hdl.handle.net/10388/15112© 2023 The American Phytopathological SocietyCanola (Brassica napus) is an important broadacre crop, produced under high nitrogen (N) fertilizer application. Modern canola varieties are developed under high N rates but the impacts on root-associated microbiomes of different varieties are unknown. We studied eight canola varieties spanning historical Canadian spring canola development at two sites under high and low N fertility and characterized bacterial and fungal microbiomes in the root and rhizosphere using amplicon sequencing. Environmental conditions and the resulting canola varietal responses strongly affected the root-associated bacterial and fungal microbiomes. Microbes regulated by N fertility in each canola variety were mainly Gammaproteobacteria, Bacteroidia, Actinobacteria, Sordariomycetes, Dothideomycetes, and Agaricomycetes classes. Differentially abundant (DA) microbial taxa showed that N more strongly enriched bacteria in the roots and fungi in the rhizosphere. Each variety had its specific pattern of DA amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) responding to soil N availability, and the profile of DA-ASVs in paired canola varieties were also altered by soil N availability, especially bacteria in the rhizosphere. The yield was strongly associated with a subset of microbial taxa, mainly from Proteobacteria, Actinobacteriota, and Ascomycota. These variety-dependent responses to N and links to yield performance make the root-associated microbiome a promising target for improving the agronomic performance of canola by manipulating microorganisms tailored to soil fertility and plant genotype.enAttribution 2.5 CanadaBrassica napuscanola varietynitrogen fertilizationroot-associated microbiomeyieldArticle10.1094/PBIOMES-07-22-0045-R