Phyllosphere microbial communities are modulated by pathogen coinfection, but not a plant defense hormone.

ABSTRACT: Phyllosphere microbial communities play important roles in plant health, yet the roles of plant defense hormones and coinfections in shaping these communities remain unclear. This study investigated how exogenous application of the plant defense hormone salicylic acid and fungal coinfection influenced microbial communities on leaves of tall fescue. In a factorial experiment, we treated leaves with salicylic acid (at 100 mg/L) or a control solution and inoculated them with one of four inoculation treatments: Rhizoctonia solani alone, mock inoculation, co-inoculation with both R. solani and Colletotrichum cereale, or mock co-inoculation. We characterized the fungal and bacterial communities using ITS and 16S rRNA gene sequencing, respectively. Salicylic acid application did not significantly

SUBMITTER: Geyer JK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12854442 | biostudies-literature | 2026

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature