Legacies of consecutive summer droughts on soil-borne plant parasitic protists (Oomycota: Stramenopila and Phytomyxea: Rhizaria) and protistan consumers (Cercozoa: Rhizaria) along an experimental plant diversity gradient.

ABSTRACT: Increasing frequencies of severe summer droughts and plant diversity loss disrupt ecosystem functioning and stability of European grasslands. Understanding how these factors interact with pathogens is crucial. We investigated the effects of plant diversity and repeated summer drought on soil-borne parasites within a grassland biodiversity experiment. The experiment included plant communities ranging from 1 to 60 species, with a sub-experiment simulating annual droughts for 6 wk in summer over 9 yr. One year after the final drought period, we analyzed the diversity and community composition of two parasitic protistan taxa with many plant-pathogenic members, Oomycota (Stramenopila) and Phytomyxea (Rhizaria), as well as protistan consumers in the Cercozoa (Rhizaria) using amplicon sequencing.

SUBMITTER: Solbach MD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12825405 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature