Priority effects alter interaction outcomes in a legume-rhizobium mutualism
Julia A Boyle1, Anna K Simonsen2,3, Megan E Frederickson1
1Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S3B2.
Proceedings. Biological Sciences
|March 15, 2021
Summary
Species arrival order matters in mutualistic relationships. Early access to effective microbes improved plant growth and tolerance to later, less effective partners, influencing community structure.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Microbiology
- Plant Science
Background:
- Priority effects, where arrival order influences community structure, are known but their impact on mutualistic interactions is unclear.
- Mutualistic partners, like plants and microbes, can interact with multiple species, raising questions about how interaction order affects outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if and how the order of microbial strain arrival affects plant performance and symbiotic outcomes.
- To determine if early colonization by effective microbes influences the plant's ability to host subsequent, less effective symbionts.
Main Methods:
- Field experiment pairing the legume *Medicago lupulina* with two *Ensifer* bacterial strains differing in nitrogen-fixing efficiency.
- Inoculating plants with bacterial strains in distinct sequential orders and measuring plant growth and rhizobial root abundance.
Main Results:
- The initial colonizing microbial strain significantly dictated plant performance and the final abundance of rhizobia on roots.
- Plants inoculated first with effective microbes and second with ineffective ones exhibited greater growth compared to the reverse inoculation order.
Conclusions:
- Mutualism outcomes are sensitive to the order of partner interaction, not solely partner identity.
- Early exposure to high-quality mutualists can enhance host tolerance to lower-quality symbionts, potentially explaining the persistence of ineffective microbes.
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