Plant neighborhood shapes diversity and reduces interspecific variation of the phyllosphere microbiome.

ABSTRACT: Microbial communities associated with plant leaf surfaces (i.e., the phyllosphere) are increasingly recognized for their role in plant health. While accumulating evidence suggests a role for host filtering of its microbiota, far less is known about how community composition is shaped by dispersal, including from neighboring plants. We experimentally manipulated the local plant neighborhood within which tomato, pepper, or bean plants were grown in a 3-month field trial. Focal plants were grown in the presence of con- or hetero-specific neighbors (or no neighbors) in a fully factorial combination. At 30-day intervals, focal plants were harvested and replaced with a new age- and species-matched cohort while allowing neighborhood plants to continue growing. Bacterial community profiling reveal

SUBMITTER: Meyer KM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9038669 | biostudies-literature | 2022 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature