ORIGINAL PAPER
Bacterial community structure in tobacco rhizosphere soil at different altitudes in Hubei Province, China
1
Tobacco Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Qingdao 266101, Shandong, China
2
Hubei Corporation of China National Tobacco Corporation, Wuhan 430000, Hubei, China
3
Zhejiang Industrial Tobacco Corporation, Hangzhou 310009, Zhejiang, China
Submission date: 2023-09-27
Final revision date: 2026-03-18
Acceptance date: 2026-09-23
Online publication date: 2026-09-23
Publication date: 2026-09-23
Soil Sci. Ann., 2026, 77(2)240186
KEYWORDS
ABSTRACT
Altitude is a comprehensive ecological factor, along with temperature, humidity, light, etc., that has an important effect on the growth and development of tobacco. This study was carried out in the typical mountainous tobacco‑growing areas of Enshi Prefecture, Hubei Province, China. To understand the effects of different altitudes on the microbial community diversity in tobacco rhizosphere soil, we analyzed the differences in bacterial community structure in tobacco rhizosphere soil at high (>1300 m), medium (800–1300 m), and low altitudes (<800 m) using high-throughput sequencing technology. The results showed that as altitude increased, the number of soil bacterial operational taxonomic units (OTUs) across taxonomic levels decreased, and species richness also declined. At the phylum level, the relative abundance of Proteobacteria was the highest at low altitudes, and that of Actinobacteria and Acidobacteria was the highest at high altitudes. At the genus level, the abundance of Sphingomonas and Subgroup_6 was relatively higher at low altitudes than at medium and high altitudes. The relative abundance of other species in the tobacco rhizosphere soil was lower at different altitudes. The abundances of Firmicutes (phylum level) and Chujiaibacter (genus level) were relatively higher at medium altitudes than those at low and high altitudes. In conclusion, there were significant differences in the bacterial species of the tobacco rhizosphere soil among the three altitudes. The difference in species composition was greatest at low altitudes, whereas bacterial species composition was similar at medium and high altitudes.
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