10.1371/journal.pone.0048288 Xingang Zhou Xingang Zhou Fengzhi Wu Fengzhi Wu <em>p-Coumaric</em> Acid Influenced Cucumber Rhizosphere Soil Microbial Communities and the Growth of <em>Fusarium oxysporum</em> f.sp. <em>cucumerinum</em> Owen Public Library of Science 2012 influenced cucumber rhizosphere microbial communities owen 2012-10-30 02:12:29 Dataset https://plos.figshare.com/articles/dataset/_p_Coumaric_Acid_Influenced_Cucumber_Rhizosphere_Soil_Microbial_Communities_and_the_Growth_of_Fusarium_oxysporum_f_sp_cucumerinum_Owen__/117949 <div><h3>Background</h3><p>Autotoxicity of cucumber root exudates or decaying residues may be the cause of the soil sickness of cucumber. However, how autotoxins affect soil microbial communities is not yet fully understood.</p> <h3>Methodology/Principal Findings</h3><p>The aims of this study were to study the effects of an artificially applied autotoxin of cucumber, <em>p</em>-coumaric acid, on cucumber seedling growth, rhizosphere soil microbial communities, and <em>Fusarium oxysporum</em> f.sp. <em>cucumerinum</em> Owen (a soil-borne pathogen of cucumber) growth. Abundance, structure and composition of rhizosphere bacterial and fungal communities were analyzed with real-time PCR, PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and clone library methods. Soil dehydrogenase activity and microbial biomass C (MBC) were determined to indicate the activity and size of the soil microflora. Results showed that <em>p</em>-coumaric acid (0.1–1.0 µmol/g soil) decreased cucumber leaf area, and increased soil dehydrogenase activity, MBC and rhizosphere bacterial and fungal community abundances. <em>p</em>-Coumaric acid also changed the structure and composition of rhizosphere bacterial and fungal communities, with increases in the relative abundances of bacterial taxa <em>Firmicutes</em>, <em>Betaproteobacteria</em>, <em>Gammaproteobacteria</em> and fungal taxa <em>Sordariomycete</em>, <em>Zygomycota</em>, and decreases in the relative abundances of bacterial taxa <em>Bacteroidetes</em>, <em>Deltaproteobacteria</em>, <em>Planctomycetes</em>, <em>Verrucomicrobia</em> and fungal taxon <em>Pezizomycete</em>. In addition, <em>p</em>-coumaric acid increased <em>Fusarium oxysporum</em> population densities in soil.</p> <h3>Conclusions/Significance</h3><p>These results indicate that <em>p</em>-coumaric acid may play a role in the autotoxicity of cucumber via influencing soil microbial communities.</p> </div>