Leaf age structures phyllosphere microbial communities in the field and greenhouse

Area of Science:

• Microbiology
• Plant Science
• Ecology

Background:

• Leaf microbiome structure influences host fitness and responds to environmental factors.
• Limited research exists on host age effects on microbial communities over short timescales relevant to microbes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how host age influences fungal and bacterial leaf microbiome composition and diversity over short durations.
• To compare microbiome changes across different leaf ages in both field and greenhouse settings.

Main Methods:

• Utilized next-generation sequencing to characterize phyllosphere fungal and bacterial communities.
• Conducted independent field and greenhouse studies examining leaf age-related microbiome shifts.
• Analyzed fungal and bacterial communities based on relative leaf age (field) and absolute leaf age (greenhouse).

Main Results:

• Fungal communities showed susceptibility to change with leaf aging, with shifts in fungal taxa diversity observed in both field and greenhouse studies.
• Increased fungal taxa diversity was noted with increasing leaf age in the greenhouse experiment.
• Bacterial communities in the field exhibited changes in diversity, composition, and relative abundance of dominant taxa as leaves aged.

Conclusions:

• Leaf age is a critical factor modulating fungal and bacterial leaf microbiome structure over short timescales.
• Findings provide a basis for future research into fine-scale interactions among microbial taxa on plant leaves.
• The study highlights the dynamic nature of the leaf microbiome in response to host ontogeny.