# Niche and Geographic Drivers Shape the Diversity and Composition of Endophytic Bacteria in Salt-Tolerant Peanut

## TL;DR

This study explores how environmental niches and geography affect the diversity and makeup of bacteria inside salt-tolerant peanuts grown in saline-alkali soils.

## Contribution

The study reveals the combined influence of niche and geographic factors on endophytic bacterial communities in salt-tolerant peanuts.

## Key findings

- Roots showed the highest richness, while leaves had the greatest diversity in saline-alkali soils.
- Geographic location strongly shaped bacterial communities, especially in roots and pods.
- Environmental factors like available phosphorus and sulfate were key predictors of bacterial composition in roots.

## Abstract

Endophytic bacteria play an important role in the growth, stress tolerance, and metabolic function of salt-tolerant peanuts, yet their community assembly across different saline–alkali soils and plant organs remains poorly characterized. In this study, the V3–V4 variable region of the endophytic bacteria 16S rRNA gene in three organs (roots, leaves, and pods) of high-oleic-acid peanut variety Huayu9118 from three saline–alkali locations (Xinjiang, Jilin, and Shandong, China) was analyzed by high-throughput sequencing. A total of 1,360,313 effective sequences yielded 19,449 amplicon sequence variants (ASVs), with Proteobacteria (45.86–84.62%), Bacteroidota (6.52–13.90%), and Actinobacteriota (3.97–10.87%) dominating all samples. Niche strongly influenced microbial diversity: the roots exhibited the highest level of richness (Chao 1/ACE indices), while the leaves showed the greatest diversity (Shannon/Simpson indices) in XJ samples. Significant compositional differences were observed between aerial (leaves) and underground (roots/pods) organs. Geographic location also markedly shaped endophytic communities, with stronger effects in roots and pods than in leaves—a pattern supported by PCoA combined with ANOSIM (R (roots) = 1, R (pods) = 0.874, R (leaves) = 0.336, respectively, p < 0.001). Saline–alkali adaptation led to a marked enrichment of Novosphingobium in roots and pods and of Halomonas in leaves compared to non-saline–alkali-grown peanuts. Furthermore, the endophytic communities within the same organ type varied significantly across the three saline–alkali sites. Redundancy analysis (RDA) identified the key environmental factors shaping bacterial community composition in the root samples from each location: available phosphorus (AP) and sulfate (SO42−) were the strongest predictors in XJ; available potassium (AK) and chloride (Cl−) in DY; and hydrolyzed nitrogen (HN), pH, soil organic matter (SOM), and bicarbonate (HCO3−) in JL. These findings demonstrate that niches and geographical conditions determined the composition and relative abundance of endophytic bacteria in salt-tolerant peanuts, providing new insights into microbial ecological adaptation in saline–alkali ecosystems.