Continental-scale associations of Arabidopsis thaliana phyllosphere members with host genotype and drought.

ABSTRACT: Plants are colonized by distinct pathogenic and commensal microbiomes across different regions of the globe, but the factors driving their geographic variation are largely unknown. Here, using 16S ribosomal DNA and shotgun sequencing, we characterized the associations of the Arabidopsis thaliana leaf microbiome with host genetics and climate variables from 267 populations in the species' native range across Europe. Comparing the distribution of the 575 major bacterial amplicon variants (phylotypes), we discovered that microbiome composition in A. thaliana segregates along a latitudinal gradient. The latitudinal clines in microbiome composition are predicted by metrics of drought, but also by the spatial genetics of the host. To validate the relative effects of drought and host genotype we

SUBMITTER: Karasov TL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11457713 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature