Background and aim

Pea-tea intercropping is known to improve tea quality but its potential mechanism remains unclear. This study aimed to elucidate the effects of pea-tea intercropping on rhizosphere soil microbial communities and interpret its potential role in the improvement of tea quality.

Methods

A high-throughput sequencing method was used to detect the microbial communities in the rhizosphere of pea-intercropped tea plants. KEGG and eggNOG databases were used for the functional annotation of microbial DNA sequences. Carbohydrate-active enzymes were used to evaluate soil quality.

Results

Some microbes in the rhizosphere of pea-intercropped tea plants showed large variations, particularly phyla Acidobacteria and Proteobacteria. The abundance of Bradyrhizobiaceae of Proteobacteria, which help in nitrogen fixation, increased significantly. The annotation of carbohydrate-active enzymes revealed that the relative content of glycoside hydrolases (GHs) increased significantly in the soil microbes of pea-intercropped tea plants. The KEGG analysis showed that more amino acid- and carbohydrate metabolism-related genes were enriched in the soil microbes of pea-intercropped tea plants. To sum up, pea-tea intercropping could improve tea quality by regulating soil microbes in terms of carbon- and nitrogen-fixing capacities.