Host selection is not a universal driver of phyllosphere community assembly among ecologically similar native New Zealand plant species.

ABSTRACT:

Background

A growing body of evidence demonstrates that host-associated microbial communities of plant leaf surfaces (i.e. the phyllosphere) can influence host functional traits. However, it remains unclear whether host selection is a universal driver of phyllosphere community assembly. We targeted mānuka (Leptospermum scoparium) and three neighbouring non-mānuka plant species along an 1800-m transect in a New Zealand native bush to conduct a hypothesis-driven investigation of the relative influence of host species identity and stochastic dispersal on the composition of natural phyllosphere bacterial communities.

Results

We detected significant correlations between host species identity and mānuka phyllosphere communities that are consistent with a dominant role of host sele

SUBMITTER: Noble AS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11786578 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature