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Does plant community plasticity mediate microbial homeostasis?

ABSTRACT: Microbial homeostasis-constant microbial element ratios along resource gradients-is a core ecological tenet, yet not all systems display homeostasis. We suggest investigations of homeostasis mechanisms must also consider plant-microbial interactions. Specifically, we hypothesized that ecosystems with strong plant community plasticity to changing resources will have homeostatic microbial communities, with less microbial resource cost, because plants reduce variance in resource stoichiometry. Using long-term nutrient additions in two ecosystems with differing plant response, we fail to support our hypothesis because although homeostasis appears stronger in the system with stronger plant response, microbial mechanisms were also stronger. However, our conclusions were undermined by high heterogeneity in resources, which may be common in ecosystem-level studies, and methodological assumptions may be exacerbated by shifting plant communities. We propose our study as a starting point for further ecosystem-scale investigations, with higher replication to address microbial and soil variability, and improved insight into microbial assimilable resources.

SUBMITTER: Buckeridge KM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7319231 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Does plant community plasticity mediate microbial homeostasis?

Buckeridge Kate M KM McLaren Jennie R JR

Ecology and evolution 20200424 12

Microbial homeostasis-constant microbial element ratios along resource gradients-is a core ecological tenet, yet not all systems display homeostasis. We suggest investigations of homeostasis mechanisms must also consider plant-microbial interactions. Specifically, we hypothesized that ecosystems with strong plant community plasticity to changing resources will have homeostatic microbial communities, with less microbial resource cost, because plants reduce variance in resource stoichiometry. Usin ...[more]

PMID: 32607148

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Project description:Genetic variation in plants can influence the community structure of associated species, through both direct and indirect interactions. Herbivorous insects are known to feed on a restricted range of plants, and herbivore preference and performance can vary among host plants within a species due to genetically based traits of the plant (e.g., defensive compounds). In a natural system, we expect to find genetic variation within both plant and herbivore communities and we expect this variation to influence species interactions. Using a three-species plant-aphid model system, we investigated the effect of genetic diversity on genetic interactions among the community members. Our system involved a host plant (Hordeum vulgare) that was shared by an aphid (Sitobion avenae) and a hemi-parasitic plant (Rhinanthus minor). We showed that aphids cluster more tightly in a genetically diverse host-plant community than in a genetic monoculture, with host-plant genetic diversity explaining up to 24% of the variation in aphid distribution. This is driven by differing preferences of the aphids to the different plant genotypes and their resulting performance on these plants. Within the two host-plant diversity levels, aphid spatial distribution was influenced by an interaction among the aphid's own genotype, the genotype of a competing aphid, the origin of the parasitic plant population, and the host-plant genotype. Thus, the overall outcome involves both direct (i.e., host plant to aphid) and indirect (i.e., parasitic plant to aphid) interactions across all these species. These results show that a complex genetic environment influences the distribution of herbivores among host plants. Thus, in genetically diverse systems, interspecific genetic interactions between the host plant and herbivore can influence the population dynamics of the system and could also structure local communities. We suggest that direct and indirect genotypic interactions among species can influence community structure and processes.

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Does plant community plasticity mediate microbial homeostasis?

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Does plant community plasticity mediate microbial homeostasis?

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