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Updated: Aug 2, 2025
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A Gnotobiotic System for Studying Microbiome Assembly in the Phyllosphere and in Vegetable Fermentation
Published on: June 3, 2020
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Within-host adaptation alters priority effects within the tomato phyllosphere microbiome.
Reena Debray1, Asa Conover2, Xuening Zhang3
1Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. rrdebray@berkeley.edu.
Nature Ecology & Evolution
|April 13, 2023
Summary
In ecological communities, resident species like Pantoea dispersa evolved to expand their niche, not just improve efficiency. This challenges existing theories on how evolution impacts species interactions and community dynamics.
Area of Science:
- Microbial Ecology
- Evolutionary Biology
- Plant-Microbe Interactions
Background:
- Understanding how in situ evolution affects ecological community assembly is crucial for predicting future compositions and functions.
- Priority effects, where the order of species arrival influences community structure, are a key factor in ecological dynamics.
- Phyllosphere microbial communities offer a tractable model for studying priority effects due to their defined spatial boundaries and experimental manipulability.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how in situ evolution of an early-colonizing species, Pantoea dispersa, influences priority effects in a plant-associated microbial community.
- To determine if adaptation leads to niche expansion or increased competitive efficiency within existing niches.
- To assess the impact of evolved P. dispersa on its interactions with other microbes and the host plant.
Main Methods:
- An experimental evolution study was conducted using tomato plants and Pantoea dispersa.
- P. dispersa was introduced at different times relative to competitor species to establish varying priority effects.
- The evolution of P. dispersa, its niche occupation, and its interactions within the plant microbiome were analyzed.
Main Results:
- Pantoea dispersa rapidly evolved to occupy a new niche within the plant tissue.
- The evolved P. dispersa altered its ecological interactions with other plant microbiome members.
- The evolved P. dispersa also modified its effect on the host plant, demonstrating a shift beyond mere competitive improvement.
Conclusions:
- Resident microbial species can evolve to expand their ecological niche rather than solely enhancing efficiency within their existing niche.
- This finding suggests that current ecological models, which often assume adaptation leads to niche optimization, may have limitations when applied to microbial communities.
- The study highlights the importance of considering niche expansion as a key evolutionary outcome influencing community assembly and function.
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