Different bacterial communities in ectomycorrhizae and surrounding soil

Area of Science:

• Microbial ecology
• Plant-microbe interactions
• Symbiotic systems

Background:

• Eukaryotic symbioses often harbor diverse prokaryotic communities.
• Understanding these microbial communities is crucial for elucidating symbiotic functions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare bacterial communities in Bistorta vivipara ectomycorrhizae with those in bulk soil.
• To investigate the diversity and structure of the plant root microbiome.

Main Methods:

• Pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA gene amplicons was used to analyze bacterial communities.
• Bacterial communities from plant roots and surrounding soil were compared.

Main Results:

• High richness of Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) was observed in both plant roots (3,571 OTUs) and soil (3,476 OTUs).
• Community composition significantly differed between root and soil environments, with specific phyla enriched in plant roots.
• A substantial proportion of root-associated OTUs showed low similarity to reference sequences, indicating novel bacterial diversity.
• Bacterial communities in plant roots exhibited spatial structuring up to 60 cm, potentially mediated by fungal hyphae.

Conclusions:

• Ectomycorrhizal roots of Bistorta vivipara harbor a distinct bacterial microbiome.
• This unique microbiome likely plays a significant role in the functioning of the plant-fungus symbiosis.
• The findings suggest extensive novel bacterial diversity associated with ectomycorrhizae.