Precipitation legacy effects on soil microbiota facilitate adaptive drought responses in plants.

ABSTRACT: Drought alters the soil microbiota by selecting for functional traits that preserve fitness in dry conditions. Legacy effects or ecological memory refers to how past stress exposure influences microbiota responses to future environmental challenges. How precipitation legacy effects impact soil microorganisms and plants is unclear, especially in the context of subsequent drought. Here we characterized the metagenomes of six prairie soils spanning a precipitation gradient in Kansas, United States. A microbial precipitation legacy, which persisted over a 5-month-long experimental drought, mitigated the negative physiological effects of acute drought for a native wild grass species, but not for the domesticated crop species maize. RNA sequencing of roots revealed that soil microbiota with a lo

SUBMITTER: Ginnan NA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12578634 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature