Abstract
Plant–microbe interactions play crucial roles in species invasions but are rarely investigated at the intraspecific level. Here, we study these interactions in three lineages of a globally distributed plant, Phragmites australis. We use field surveys and a common garden experiment to analyze bacterial communities in the rhizosphere of P. australis stands from native, introduced, and Gulf lineages to determine lineage-specific controls on rhizosphere bacteria. We show that within-lineage bacterial communities are similar, but are distinct among lineages, which is consistent with our results in a complementary common garden experiment. Introduced P. australis rhizosphere bacterial communities have lower abundances of pathways involved in antimicrobial biosynthesis and degradation, suggesting a lower exposure to enemy attack than native and Gulf lineages. However, lineage and not rhizosphere bacterial communities dictate individual plant growth in the common garden experiment. We conclude that lineage is crucial for determination of both rhizosphere bacterial communities and plant fitness.
Highlights
Plant–microbe interactions play crucial roles in species invasions but are rarely investigated at the intraspecific level
That homogeneity in the bacterial community within lineages could arise from different microhabitat preferences maintained by each lineage, so we confirmed the role of lineage as a driver of bacterial community structure in a common garden experiment
Our results reveal a remarkable influence of P. australis lineage on the structure of the bacterial community (Fig. 1a)
Summary
Plant–microbe interactions play crucial roles in species invasions but are rarely investigated at the intraspecific level We study these interactions in three lineages of a globally distributed plant, Phragmites australis. Interactions between plants and soil microorganisms that occur in the rhizosphere create microhabitats that result in plant species-specific rhizosphere microbial communities These interactions are highly localized in the region immediately adjacent to plant roots and play a critical role in plant fitness[1, 2]. Because the three different lineages of P. australis are widespread and grow sympatrically across North America, this species provides a unique opportunity to study the similarities and differences in the rhizosphere bacterial communities both among plant lineages with known phylogenies and across a wide range of geographical distances
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