Microbial diversity can restrict the invasion and impact of alien microbes into soils via resource competition. However, this theory has not been tested on various microbial invaders with different ecological traits, particularly spore-forming bacteria. Here we investigated the survival capacity of two introduced spore-forming bacteria, Bacillus mycoides (BM) and B. pumillus (BP) and their impact on the soil microbiome niches with low and high diversity. We hypothesized that higher soil bacterial diversity would better restrict Bacillus survival via resource competition, and the invasion would alter the resident bacterial communities\' niches only if inoculants do not escape competition with the soil community (e.g. through sporulation). Our findings showed that BP could not survive as viable propagules and transiently impacted the bacterial communities\' niche structure. This may be linked to its poor resource usage and low growth rate. Having better resource use capacities, BM better survived in soil, though its survival was weakly related to the remaining resources left for them by the soil community. BM strongly affected the community niche structure, ultimately in less diverse communities. These findings show that the inverse diversity-invasibility relationship can be valid for some spore-forming bacteria, but only when they have sufficient resource use capacity.

Improper nutrient management is one of the major limitations linked with cultivation of Cajanus cajan. This calls for an urgent need for a promising alternative, employing both bioinoculants and chemical fertilizer. Present study attempted to understand the impact of bioinoculants {Azotobacter chroococcum, Bacillus megaterium, and Pseudomonas fluorescens (ABP)} as their mono-inoculations, triple-inoculation, and their combination with different doses of fertilizer on (a) plant parameters, (b) soil nitrogen (N) economy, (c) resident bacterial community, (d) genes and transcripts involved in N cycle, and to evaluate the extent to which fertilizer could be replaced by ABP without compromising on grain yield. Bradyrhizobium sp. was used in all the treatments (as it was recommended for C. cajan). Combined application of bioinoculants and 75% of recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF) led to 1.28-fold enhancement in grain yield as compared to RDF alone. Apart from exerting a positive impact on grain yield, the combined application of ABP and fertilizer led to an improvement in soil fertility, and modified the culturable rhizospheric bacterial community involved in N cycle. Integrated use of bioinoculants and fertilizer led to better N substrate utilization and hence, metabolic diversity when compared with application of fertilizer alone. An increase in the transcripts of nifH gene at the harvest stage in the soil treated with ABP alone and its combination with fertilizer, over individual treatment with fertilizer was observed. The combined use of ABP and fertilizer shaped the resident bacterial community towards a more beneficial community, which helped in increasing soil nitrogen turnover and hence, soil fertility as a whole.

Drought affects plant hormonal homeostasis, including root to shoot signalling. The plant is intimately connected below-ground with soil-dwelling microbes, including plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) that can modulate plant hormonal homeostasis. Incorporating PGPR into the rhizosphere often delivers favourable results in greenhouse experiments, while field applications are much less predictable. We review the natural processes that affect the formation and dynamics of the rhizosphere, establishing a model for successful field application of PGPR utilizing an example microbial inoculum, Variovorax paradoxus 5C-2.