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Updated: Jul 3, 2026
09:24
Assembly and Tracking of Microbial Community Development within a Microwell Array Platform
Published on: June 6, 2017
Balancing deterministic and stochastic assembly during needle aging shapes phyllosphere microbial community
Bing Li1,2,3, Mingyang Fu1,2,3, Guangze Jin1,2,3
1School of Ecology, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, 150040, China.
Environmental Microbiome
|July 2, 2026
Summary
Microbial communities on plant leaves change as they age, with random dispersal initially increasing diversity. As leaves age, environmental factors become more influential, altering community structure and stability.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Microbiology
- Plant Science
Background:
- Phyllosphere microorganisms are crucial for plant health and productivity.
- Leaf aging can alter phyllosphere microbial community composition, complexity, and stability.
- The ecological assembly processes (deterministic vs. stochastic) shaping these dynamics are not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the roles of deterministic and stochastic processes in shaping phyllosphere microbial communities across different needle age cohorts.
- To assess how needle aging influences microbial diversity, community structure, and network stability.
- To determine the relationship between plant secondary metabolites and microbial community assembly.
Main Methods:
- Collected 252 needle samples from three evergreen coniferous species across three age cohorts.
- Analyzed needle traits and assessed phyllosphere epiphytic bacterial and fungal communities using amplicon sequencing.
- Evaluated microbial community assembly processes, diversity, network complexity, and stability in relation to needle age and chemical composition.
Main Results:
- Stochastic assembly processes dominated, with longer immigration periods enhancing microbial diversity and network complexity.
- Deterministic assembly intensified with needle aging, linked to increased secondary metabolites (e.g., flavonoids), leading to higher community similarity.
- Microbial network stability decreased in older needles due to reduced modularity and fewer negative interactions.
Conclusions:
- Phyllosphere microbial communities undergo successional changes across needle age cohorts.
- A dynamic interplay between deterministic and stochastic assembly processes shapes microbial communities during needle aging.
- Needle aging impacts microbial community structure, diversity, and network stability, influenced by plant chemical defenses.
Keywords:
Community assemblyEvergreen coniferMicrobial networkNeedle ageNeedle traitPhyllosphere microorganismMore Related Videos
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