Microbial community overlap between the phyllosphere and rhizosphere of three plants from Yongxing Island, South China Sea

In this study, we characterized the shared microbiome of the phyllosphere and rhizosphere among three plants on Yongxing Island, South China Sea. We found that about 10%~27% of bacteria, including diazotrophs, and fungi overlapped between the phyllosphere and rhizosphere of these host plants. No significant difference in microbial community structure was found among the rhizosphere samples, and soil properties had a higher influence on soil community structure than on the host plant species. AbstractPhyllosphere and rhizosphere are unique and wide ‐ranging habitats that harbor various microbial communities, which influence plant growth and health, and the productivity of the ecosystems. In this study, we characterized the shared microbiome of the phyllosphere and rhizosphere among three plants (Ipomoea pes ‐caprae,Wedelia chinensis, andCocos nucifera), to obtain an insight into the relationships between bacteria (including diazotrophic bacteria) and fungi, present on these host plants. Quantitative PCR showed that the abundances of the microbiome in the soil samples were significantly higher than those in the phyllosphere samples, though there was an extremely low abundance of fungi in bulk soil. High ‐throughput sequencing showed that the alpha‐diversity of bacteria and fungi was higher in the rhizosphere than the phyllosphere samples associated with the same plant, while there was no obvious shift in the alpha‐diversity of diazotrophic communities between all the ...
Source: MicrobiologyOpen - Category: Microbiology Authors: Tags: ORIGINAL ARTICLE Source Type: research