Plant Genotype Shapes Ant‐Aphid Interactions: Implications for Community Structure and Indirect Plant Defense

Abstract. Climate change can strongly alter soil microbial functioning via plant–microbe interactions, often with important consequences for ecosystem carbon and nutrient cycling. Given the high degree of intraspecific trait variability in plants, it has been hypothesized that genetic shifts within plant species yield a large potential to control the response of plant–microbe interactions to climate change. Here we examined if sea-level rise and plant genotype interact to affect soil microbial communities in an experimental coastal wetland system, using two known genotypes of the dominant salt-marsh grass Elymus athericus characterized by differences in their sensitivity to flooding stress – i.e., a tolerant genotype from low-marsh environments and an intolerant genotype from high-marsh environments. Plants were exposed to a large range of flooding frequencies in a factorial mesocosm experiment, and soil microbial activity parameters (exo-enzyme activity and litter breakdown) and microbial community structure were assessed. Plant genotype mediated the effect of flooding on soil microbial community structure and determined the presence of flooding effects on exo-enzyme activities and belowground litter breakdown. Larger variability in microbial community structure, enzyme activities, and litter breakdown in soils planted with the intolerant plant genotype supported our general hypothesis that effects of climate change on soil microbial activity and community structure can depend on plant intraspecific genetic variation. In conclusion, our data suggest that adaptive genetic variation in plants could suppress or facilitate the effects of sea-level rise on soil microbial communities. If this finding applies more generally to coastal wetlands, it yields important implications for our understanding of ecosystem–climate feedbacks in the coastal zone.

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Influence of plant genotype and soil on the wheat rhizosphere microbiome: evidences for a core microbiome across eight African and European soils

FEMS Microbiology Ecology ◽

10.1093/femsec/fiaa067 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 96 (6) ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Marie Simonin ◽

Cindy Dasilva ◽

Valeria Terzi ◽

Eddy L M Ngonkeu ◽

Diégane Diouf ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Community Structure ◽

Agricultural Practices ◽

Plant Genotype ◽

Wheat Genotype ◽

Limited Effect ◽

Data Set ◽

Core Microbiome ◽

Taxa Richness ◽

Wheat Rhizosphere ◽

Rhizosphere Microbiome

ABSTRACT Here, we assessed the relative influence of wheat genotype, agricultural practices (conventional vs organic) and soil type on the rhizosphere microbiome. We characterized the prokaryotic (archaea and bacteria) and eukaryotic (fungi and protists) communities in soils from four different countries (Cameroon, France, Italy, Senegal) and determined if a rhizosphere core microbiome existed across these different countries. The wheat genotype had a limited effect on the rhizosphere microbiome (2% of variance) as the majority of the microbial taxa were consistently associated to multiple wheat genotypes grown in the same soil. Large differences in taxa richness and in community structure were observed between the eight soils studied (57% variance) and the two agricultural practices (10% variance). Despite these differences between soils, we observed that 177 taxa (2 archaea, 103 bacteria, 41 fungi and 31 protists) were consistently detected in the rhizosphere, constituting a core microbiome. In addition to being prevalent, these core taxa were highly abundant and collectively represented 50% of the reads in our data set. Based on these results, we identify a list of key taxa as future targets of culturomics, metagenomics and wheat synthetic microbiomes. Additionally, we show that protists are an integral part of the wheat holobiont that is currently overlooked.

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Plant structural complexity mediates trade‐off in direct and indirect plant defense by birds

Ecology ◽

10.1002/ecy.2853 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 100 (10) ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Colleen S. Nell ◽

Kailen A. Mooney

Keyword(s):

Plant Defense ◽

Structural Complexity ◽

Trade Off ◽

Indirect Plant Defense

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Influence of plant genotype and soil on the wheat rhizosphere microbiome: Evidences for a core microbiome across eight African and European soils

10.1101/777383 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Marie Simonin ◽

Cindy Dasilva ◽

Valeria Terzi ◽

Eddy L. M. Ngonkeu ◽

Diégane Diouf ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Community Structure ◽

Soil Type ◽

Agricultural Practices ◽

Plant Genotype ◽

Wheat Genotype ◽

Limited Effect ◽

Core Microbiome ◽

Taxa Richness ◽

Wheat Rhizosphere ◽

Rhizosphere Microbiome

AbstractHere, we assessed the relative influence of wheat genotype, agricultural practices (conventional vs organic) and soil type on the rhizosphere microbiome. We characterized the prokaryotic (archaea, bacteria) and eukaryotic (fungi, protists) communities in soils from four different countries (Cameroon, France, Italy, Senegal) and determined if a rhizosphere core microbiome existed across these different countries. The wheat genotype had a limited effect on the rhizosphere microbiome (2% of variance) as the majority of the microbial taxa were consistently associated to multiple wheat genotypes grown in the same soil. Large differences in taxa richness and in community structure were observed between the eight soils studied (57% variance) and the two agricultural practices (10% variance). Despite these differences between soils, we observed that 179 taxa (2 archaea, 104 bacteria, 41 fungi, 32 protists) were consistently detected in the rhizosphere, constituting a core microbiome. In addition to being prevalent, these core taxa were highly abundant and collectively represented 50% of the reads in our dataset. Based on these results, we identify a list of key taxa as future targets of culturomics, metagenomics and wheat synthetic microbiomes. Additionally, we show that protists are an integral part of the wheat holobiont that is currently overlooked.Graphical Abstract

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Faculty Opinions recommendation of Indirect plant defense against insect herbivores: a review.

Faculty Opinions – Post-Publication Peer Review of the Biomedical Literature ◽

10.3410/f.727154644.793572222 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Ying-Bo Mao

Keyword(s):

Plant Defense ◽

Insect Herbivores ◽

Indirect Plant Defense

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Elucidating the Formation of Geranyllinalool, the Precursor of the Volatile C16-Homoterpene TMTT Involved in Indirect Plant Defense

Isoprenoid Synthesis in Plants and Microorganisms ◽

10.1007/978-1-4614-4063-5_13 ◽

2012 ◽

pp. 185-198

Author(s):

Marco Herde ◽

Katrin Gärtner ◽

Tobias Köllner ◽

Benjamin Fode ◽

Wilhelm Boland ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Plant Defense ◽

Indirect Plant Defense

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Variation in natural plant products and the attraction of bodyguards involved in indirect plant defenseThe present review is one in the special series of reviews on animal–plant interactions.

Canadian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1139/z10-032 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 88 (7) ◽

pp. 628-667 ◽

Cited By ~ 196

Author(s):

Roland Mumm ◽

Marcel Dicke

Keyword(s):

Plant Defense ◽

Natural Enemies ◽

Abiotic Factors ◽

Green Leaf Volatiles ◽

Research Field ◽

Trophic Levels ◽

Plant Interactions ◽

Leaf Volatiles ◽

Plant Volatile ◽

Indirect Plant Defense

Plants can respond to feeding or egg deposition by herbivorous arthropods by changing the volatile blend that they emit. These herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) can attract carnivorous natural enemies of the herbivores, such as parasitoids and predators, a phenomenon that is called indirect plant defense. The volatile blends of infested plants can be very complex, sometimes consisting of hundreds of compounds. Most HIPVs can be classified as terpenoids (e.g., (E)-β-ocimene, (E,E)-α-farnesene, (E)-4,8-dimethyl-1,3,7-nonatriene), green leaf volatiles (e.g., hexanal, (Z)-3-hexen-1-ol, (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate), phenylpropanoids (e.g., methyl salicylate, indole), and sulphur- or nitrogen-containing compounds (e.g., isothiocyanates or nitriles, respectively). One highly intriguing question has been which volatiles out of the complex blend are the most important ones for the carnivorous natural enemies to locate "suitable host plants. Here, we review the methods and techniques that have been used to elucidate the carnivore-attracting compounds. Electrophysiological methods such as electroantennography have been used with parasitoids to elucidate which compounds can be perceived by the antennae. Different types of elicitors and inhibitors have widely been applied to manipulate plant volatile blends. Furthermore, transgenic plants that were genetically modified in specific steps in one of the signal transduction pathways or biosynthetic routes have been used to find steps in HIPV emission crucial for indirect plant defense. Furthermore, we provide an overview on biotic and abiotic factors that influence the emission of HIPVs and how this can affect the interactions between members of different trophic levels. Consequently, we review the progress that has been made in this exciting research field during the past 30 years since the first studies on HIPVs emerged and we highlight important issues to be addressed in the future.

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