Abstract
Previous studies indicate that the plant phenotypic traits eventually shape its microbiota due to the community assembly based on the functional types. If so, the distance-related variations of microbial communities are mostly only in taxonomical composition due to the different seeds pool, and there is no difference in microbial community functional structure if the location associated factors would not cause phenotypical variations in plants. We test this hypothesis by investigating the phyllospheric microbial community from five species of spruce (Picea spp.) trees that planted similarly but at three different locations. Results indicated that the geographical location affected microbial taxonomical compositions and had no effect on the community functional structure. In fact, this actually leads to a spurious difference in the microbial community. Our findings suggest that, within similar host plants, the phyllosphere microbial communities with differing taxonomical compositions might be functionally similar.
Highlights
The phyllosphere provides an ecological niche for microorganisms inhabiting it (Delmotte et al, 2009; Rico et al, 2014; Leveau, 2015)
To identify the phyllosphere microbiota associated with spruce trees, 16S rRNA and ITS sequences of 45 replicates across five species and three locations were obtained
A total of 18 identified abundant Operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were ascribed to four bacterial phyla (Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Firmicutes), while one unclassified at phylum level
Summary
The phyllosphere provides an ecological niche for microorganisms inhabiting it (Delmotte et al, 2009; Rico et al, 2014; Leveau, 2015). The microbial members are involved in disease resistance and/or pathogenesis of plant, promoting plant growth and development, changing plant foliar activity, and fixing nitrogen (Innerebner, Knief & Vorholt, 2011; Reed, Cleveland & Townsend, 2011) To this date, numerous investigations have shed light on the phylogenetic compositions of microbial life within plant phyllosphere. Numerous investigations have shed light on the phylogenetic compositions of microbial life within plant phyllosphere These studies have revealed that compositional changes within microbial functional groups are correlated to changes in phyllosphere ecosystem processes (Cordier et al, 2012; Remus-Emsermann et al, 2012; Rastogi, Coaker & Leveau, 2013). They did not demonstrate a relationship between microbial taxonomical compositions and community functional structures across geographical locations
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