Seeds of native alpine plants host unique microbial communities embedded in cross-kingdom networks.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The plant microbiota is crucial for plant health and growth. Recently, vertical transmission of a beneficial core microbiota was identified for crop seeds, but for native plants, complementary mechanisms are almost completely unknown.

Methods

We studied the seeds of eight native plant species growing together for centuries under the same environmental conditions in Alpine meadows (Austria) by qPCR, FISH-CLSM, and amplicon sequencing targeting bacteria, archaea, and fungi.

Results

Bacteria and fungi were determined with approx. 10¹⁰ gene copy numbers g^-1 seed as abundant inhabitants. Archaea, which were newly discovered as seed endophytes, are less and represent only 1.1% of the signatures. The seed microbiome was highly diversified, an

SUBMITTER: Wassermann B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6651914 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature