ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Symbiotic Interactions
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2025.1596905
The effects of clonal integration and earthworms on the growth, active constituent accumulation in Glechoma longituba, and the soil microbial community in its root zone
Provisionally accepted
- 1Handan University, Handan, China
- 2Hebei University, Baoding, Hebei Province, China
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Clonal integration represents a key ecological advantage of clonal plants, enabling resource transfer among interconnected ramets. Earthworm activity significantly influences soil processes and plant growth. However, it remains unclear whether the effects of earthworms on basal ramets can be transmitted to their apical counterparts through clonal integration. We conducted an experiment using Glechoma longituba, a commonly used clonal herb. Basal ramets were either exposed or not exposed to earthworms (Pheretima guillelmi) in the soil, while apical ramets remained devoid of earthworm presence. The stolon connecting the ramets was either severed or left intact. Clonal integration promotes the growth of apical ramets at the expense of basal ramets, resulting in no net gain or loss at the whole fragment level. Although the direct effect of earthworms on plant growth was minimal, they interact with clonal integration to affect the number of nodes and total stolon length. Clonal integration enhances the accumulation of total flavonoids in the whole fragment, whereas earthworms have a significant negative effect on the accumulation of chlorogenic acid. Clonal integration significantly affects bacterial composition at both basal and apical portions, concurrently reducing bacterial diversity. Earthworms accumulate specific fungal communities and increase fungal diversity at apical portions. Earthworms also reduce the difference within bacterial communities in the basal portions of both intact and severed treatments to some extent. Moreover, earthworms affect the bacterial and fungal communities in the root zone of apical ramets through clonal integration. These findings provide a theoretical foundation for the cultivation of clonal plants.
Keywords: Active constituent, Clonal integration, Clonal plant, Glechoma longituba, Pheretima guillelmi, Soil microorganism community
Received: 20 Mar 2025; Accepted: 25 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhao, Wang, Zhang, He, Xie, Yao and Si. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Xiaoqin Yao, Hebei University, Baoding, Hebei Province, China
Chao Si, Handan University, Handan, China
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