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. 2021 Oct 21;12:747541. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.747541

FIGURE 5.

FIGURE 5

Synthetic community (SynCom) inoculation affects the sap flow of maize hybrids. (A) Fluctuation of VPD (kPa) from 77 to 83 DAS. The gray background highlights daily windows from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, periods considered to measure sap flow of DKB177 (B,C), SX7341 (D,E), and P3707VYH (F,G). Box plots are shown for WW- (B,D,F) and DS-treated/rehydrated (C,E,G) plants. Rehydration was performed at 80 DAS. (B) In WW, SynCom leads to an increase in DKB177 sap flow by up to 2.22×. (C) Inoculated DKB177 plants tended to have their sap flow reduced in late stages of DS (77–79 DAS). During recovery (81–83 DAS), this reduction significantly reached up to 25.9%. (D) SX7341 presented an undefined pattern of sap flow under WW the regime. (E) A lack of pattern was also found during the DS and rehydration periods. (F) WW-treated P3707VYH had its sap flow reduced by up to 39.7% when inoculated, the same effect found in DS (G). (G) During recovery, SynCom inoculation led to a shift in sap flow of P3707VYH with an increase of up to 2.57× compared to the control. VPD: vapor-pressure deficit; WW, well watering; DS, drought stress; DAS, days after sowing. *P ≤ 0.05, **P ≤ 0.01, and ***P ≤ 0.001.