P is a crucial plant nutrient required for optimum crop production. Enhancement of rhizosphere enzyme activities can be achieved by P fertilization in P-limited soil but its temporal variation in rice rhizosphere expansion still unclear.

Using soil zymography technology to study the temporal variation of enzymes in rice rhizosphere expansion was the aim of a team's work from the Institute of Subtropical Agriculture (ISA) of Chinese Academy of Sciences in cooperation with Institute of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science, Christian-Albrechtes-University of Kiel, Kiel, Germany.

Scientists used soil with limited P form Changsha, then soil was amended by individual cellulose, individual P application and combined application of cellulose and P.

Results from their research indicated that expansion of all tested enzyme activities within the rhizosphere was negatively affected by P fertilization.

"That's because of high competition between plant and microorganism to gain Nitrogen occurred when P added to soil," said researcher GE Tida in ISA.

However, cellobiohydrolase and acid phosphatase expanded from surrounding the root to bulk soil more than that of β- glucosidase and alkaline phosphatase, respectively.

Also Enzyme activity expansion was observed when individual cellulose added to the soil, while the combined application of cellulose and P caused extended acid and alkaline phosphatase hotspots in the rice rhizosphere.

The study entitled "Expansion of rice enzymatic rhizosphere: temporal dynamics in response to phosphorus and cellulose application" was published in Plant Soil. Details can be found at https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-018-03902-0.

The study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and Youth Innovation Team Project of CAS, ISA.