1
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Lau JA, Bolin LG. The tiny drivers behind plant ecology and evolution. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY 2024; 111:e16324. [PMID: 38666516 DOI: 10.1002/ajb2.16324] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2024] [Revised: 02/28/2024] [Accepted: 02/28/2024] [Indexed: 05/29/2024]
Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer A Lau
- Biology Department, Indiana University, 1001 E 3rd St., Bloomington, 47405, IN, USA
| | - Lana G Bolin
- Biology Department, Indiana University, 1001 E 3rd St., Bloomington, 47405, IN, USA
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2
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O'Brien AM, Laurich JR, Frederickson ME. Evolutionary consequences of microbiomes for hosts: impacts on host fitness, traits, and heritability. Evolution 2024; 78:237-252. [PMID: 37828761 DOI: 10.1093/evolut/qpad183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2022] [Revised: 08/30/2023] [Accepted: 10/03/2023] [Indexed: 10/14/2023]
Abstract
An organism's phenotypes and fitness often depend on the interactive effects of its genome (Ghost), microbiome (Gmicrobe), and environment (E). These G × G, G × E, and G × G × E effects fundamentally shape host-microbiome (co)evolution and may be widespread, but are rarely compared within a single experiment. We collected and cultured Lemnaminor (duckweed) and its associated microbiome from 10 sites across an urban-to-rural ecotone. We factorially manipulated host genotype and microbiome in two environments (low and high zinc, an urban aquatic stressor) in an experiment with 200 treatments: 10 host genotypes × 10 microbiomes × 2 environments. Host genotype explained the most variation in L.minor fitness and traits, while microbiome effects often depended on host genotype (G × G). Microbiome composition predicted G × G effects: when compared in more similar microbiomes, duckweed genotypes had more similar effects on traits. Further, host fitness increased and microbes grew faster when applied microbiomes more closely matched the host's field microbiome, suggesting some local adaptation between hosts and microbiota. Finally, selection on and heritability of host traits shifted across microbiomes and zinc exposure. Thus, we found that microbiomes impact host fitness, trait expression, and heritability, with implications for host-microbiome evolution and microbiome breeding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna M O'Brien
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Biomedical Sciences, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, United States
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Jason R Laurich
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Megan E Frederickson
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
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3
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Jewell MD, van Moorsel SJ, Bell G. Presence of microbiome decreases fitness and modifies phenotype in the aquatic plant Lemna minor. AOB PLANTS 2023; 15:plad026. [PMID: 37426173 PMCID: PMC10327544 DOI: 10.1093/aobpla/plad026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2023] [Accepted: 05/24/2023] [Indexed: 07/11/2023]
Abstract
Plants live in close association with microbial organisms that inhabit the environment in which they grow. Much recent work has aimed to characterize these plant-microbiome interactions, identifying those associations that increase growth. Although most work has focused on terrestrial plants, Lemna minor, a floating aquatic angiosperm, is increasingly used as a model in host-microbe interactions and many bacterial associations have been shown to play an important role in supporting plant fitness. However, the ubiquity and stability of these interactions as well as their dependence on specific abiotic environmental conditions remain unclear. Here, we assess the impact of a full L. minor microbiome on plant fitness and phenotype by assaying plants from eight natural sites, with and without their microbiomes, over a range of abiotic environmental conditions. We find that the microbiome systematically suppressed plant fitness, although the magnitude of this effect varied among plant genotypes and depended on the abiotic environment. Presence of the microbiome also resulted in phenotypic changes, with plants forming smaller colonies and producing smaller fronds and shorter roots. Differences in phenotype among plant genotypes were reduced when the microbiome was removed, as were genotype by environment interactions, suggesting that the microbiome plays a role in mediating the plant phenotypic response to the environment.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sofia J van Moorsel
- Department of Geography, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Graham Bell
- Department of Biology, McGill University, 1205 ave Docteur Penfield, Montreal, Quebec H3A 1B1, Canada
- Redpath Museum, McGill University, 859 Sherbrooke St West, Montreal, Quebec H3A 0C4, Canada
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4
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Khasanova A, Edwards J, Bonnette J, Singer E, Haque T, Juenger TE. Quantitative genetic-by-soil microbiome interactions in a perennial grass affect functional traits. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20221350. [PMID: 36651054 PMCID: PMC9845970 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.1350] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Plants interact with diverse microbiomes that can impact plant growth and performance. Recent studies highlight the potential beneficial aspects of plant microbiomes, including the possibility that microbes facilitate the process of local adaptation in their host plants. Microbially mediated local adaptation in plants occurs when local host genotypes have higher fitness than foreign genotypes because of their affiliation with locally beneficial microbes. Here, plant adaptation results from genetic interactions of the host with locally beneficial microbes (e.g. host genotype-by-microbiome interactions). We used a recombinant inbred line (RIL) mapping population derived from upland and lowland ecotypes of the diploid C4 perennial bunch grass Panicum hallii to explore quantitative genetic responses to soil microbiomes focusing on functional root and shoot traits involved in ecotypic divergence. We show that the growth and development of ecotypes and their trait divergence depends on soil microbiomes. Moreover, we find that the genetic architecture is modified by soil microbiomes, revealing important plant genotype-by-microbiome interactions for quantitative traits. We detected a number of quantitative trait loci (QTL) that interact with the soil microbiome. Our results highlight the importance of microbial interactions in ecotypic divergence and trait genetic architecture in C4 perennial grasses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Albina Khasanova
- Department of Integrative Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, 2415 Speedway #C0930, Austin, TX 78712, USA,Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 717 Potter Street, Berkeley, CA 94710, USA
| | - Joseph Edwards
- Department of Integrative Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, 2415 Speedway #C0930, Austin, TX 78712, USA
| | - Jason Bonnette
- Department of Integrative Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, 2415 Speedway #C0930, Austin, TX 78712, USA
| | - Esther Singer
- Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA,Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 717 Potter Street, Berkeley, CA 94710, USA
| | - Taslima Haque
- Department of Integrative Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, 2415 Speedway #C0930, Austin, TX 78712, USA
| | - Thomas E. Juenger
- Department of Integrative Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, 2415 Speedway #C0930, Austin, TX 78712, USA
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5
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A conserved genetic architecture among populations of the maize progenitor, teosinte, was radically altered by domestication. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:2112970118. [PMID: 34686607 PMCID: PMC8639367 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2112970118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
We investigated the genetic architecture of maize domestication using a quantitative genetics approach. With multiple populations of teosinte and maize, we also compared the genetic architecture among populations within maize and teosinte. We showed that genetic architecture among populations within teosinte or maize is generally conserved, in contrast to the radical differences between teosinte and maize. Our results suggest that while selection drove changes in essentially all traits between teosinte and maize, selection is far less important for explaining domestication trait differences among populations within teosinte or maize. Very little is known about how domestication was constrained by the quantitative genetic architecture of crop progenitors and how quantitative genetic architecture was altered by domestication. Yang et al. [C. J. Yang et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 116, 5643–5652 (2019)] drew multiple conclusions about how genetic architecture influenced and was altered by maize domestication based on one sympatric pair of teosinte and maize populations. To test the generality of their conclusions, we assayed the structure of genetic variances, genetic correlations among traits, strength of selection during domestication, and diversity in genetic architecture within teosinte and maize. Our results confirm that additive genetic variance is decreased, while dominance genetic variance is increased, during maize domestication. The genetic correlations are moderately conserved among traits between teosinte and maize, while the genetic variance–covariance matrices (G-matrices) of teosinte and maize are quite different, primarily due to changes in the submatrix for reproductive traits. The inferred long-term selection intensities during domestication were weak, and the neutral hypothesis was rejected for reproductive and environmental response traits, suggesting that they were targets of selection during domestication. The G-matrix of teosinte imposed considerable constraint on selection during the early domestication process, and constraint increased further along the domestication trajectory. Finally, we assayed variation among populations and observed that genetic architecture is generally conserved among populations within teosinte and maize but is radically different between teosinte and maize. While selection drove changes in essentially all traits between teosinte and maize, selection explains little of the difference in domestication traits among populations within teosinte or maize.
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6
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O'Brien AM, Ginnan NA, Rebolleda-Gómez M, Wagner MR. Microbial effects on plant phenology and fitness. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY 2021; 108:1824-1837. [PMID: 34655479 DOI: 10.1002/ajb2.1743] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2021] [Accepted: 07/07/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Plant development and the timing of developmental events (phenology) are tightly coupled with plant fitness. A variety of internal and external factors determine the timing and fitness consequences of these life-history transitions. Microbes interact with plants throughout their life history and impact host phenology. This review summarizes current mechanistic and theoretical knowledge surrounding microbe-driven changes in plant phenology. Overall, there are examples of microbes impacting every phenological transition. While most studies have focused on flowering time, microbial effects remain important for host survival and fitness across all phenological phases. Microbe-mediated changes in nutrient acquisition and phytohormone signaling can release plants from stressful conditions and alter plant stress responses inducing shifts in developmental events. The frequency and direction of phenological effects appear to be partly determined by the lifestyle and the underlying nature of a plant-microbe interaction (i.e., mutualistic or pathogenic), in addition to the taxonomic group of the microbe (fungi vs. bacteria). Finally, we highlight biases, gaps in knowledge, and future directions. This biotic source of plasticity for plant adaptation will serve an important role in sustaining plant biodiversity and managing agriculture under the pressures of climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna M O'Brien
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Nichole A Ginnan
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA
| | - María Rebolleda-Gómez
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Maggie R Wagner
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA
- Kansas Biological Survey and Center for Ecological Research, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA
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7
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Calfee E, Gates D, Lorant A, Perkins MT, Coop G, Ross-Ibarra J. Selective sorting of ancestral introgression in maize and teosinte along an elevational cline. PLoS Genet 2021; 17:e1009810. [PMID: 34634032 PMCID: PMC8530355 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1009810] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2021] [Revised: 10/21/2021] [Accepted: 09/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
While often deleterious, hybridization can also be a key source of genetic variation and pre-adapted haplotypes, enabling rapid evolution and niche expansion. Here we evaluate these opposing selection forces on introgressed ancestry between maize (Zea mays ssp. mays) and its wild teosinte relative, mexicana (Zea mays ssp. mexicana). Introgression from ecologically diverse teosinte may have facilitated maize's global range expansion, in particular to challenging high elevation regions (> 1500 m). We generated low-coverage genome sequencing data for 348 maize and mexicana individuals to evaluate patterns of introgression in 14 sympatric population pairs, spanning the elevational range of mexicana, a teosinte endemic to the mountains of Mexico. While recent hybrids are commonly observed in sympatric populations and mexicana demonstrates fine-scale local adaptation, we find that the majority of mexicana ancestry tracts introgressed into maize over 1000 generations ago. This mexicana ancestry seems to have maintained much of its diversity and likely came from a common ancestral source, rather than contemporary sympatric populations, resulting in relatively low FST between mexicana ancestry tracts sampled from geographically distant maize populations. Introgressed mexicana ancestry in maize is reduced in lower-recombination rate quintiles of the genome and around domestication genes, consistent with pervasive selection against introgression. However, we also find mexicana ancestry increases across the sampled elevational gradient and that high introgression peaks are most commonly shared among high-elevation maize populations, consistent with introgression from mexicana facilitating adaptation to the highland environment. In the other direction, we find patterns consistent with adaptive and clinal introgression of maize ancestry into sympatric mexicana at many loci across the genome, suggesting that maize also contributes to adaptation in mexicana, especially at the lower end of its elevational range. In sympatric maize, in addition to high introgression regions we find many genomic regions where selection for local adaptation maintains steep gradients in introgressed mexicana ancestry across elevation, including at least two inversions: the well-characterized 14 Mb Inv4m on chromosome 4 and a novel 3 Mb inversion Inv9f surrounding the macrohairless1 locus on chromosome 9. Most outlier loci with high mexicana introgression show no signals of sweeps or local sourcing from sympatric populations and so likely represent ancestral introgression sorted by selection, resulting in correlated but distinct outcomes of introgression in different contemporary maize populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erin Calfee
- Center for Population Biology, University of California, Davis, California, United States of America
- Department of Evolution and Ecology, University of California, Davis, California, United States of America
| | - Daniel Gates
- Department of Evolution and Ecology, University of California, Davis, California, United States of America
| | - Anne Lorant
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, California, United States of America
| | - M. Taylor Perkins
- Department of Evolution and Ecology, University of California, Davis, California, United States of America
| | - Graham Coop
- Center for Population Biology, University of California, Davis, California, United States of America
- Department of Evolution and Ecology, University of California, Davis, California, United States of America
| | - Jeffrey Ross-Ibarra
- Center for Population Biology, University of California, Davis, California, United States of America
- Department of Evolution and Ecology, University of California, Davis, California, United States of America
- Genome Center, University of California, Davis, California, United States of America
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8
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O'Brien AM, Jack CN, Friesen ML, Frederickson ME. Whose trait is it anyways? Coevolution of joint phenotypes and genetic architecture in mutualisms. Proc Biol Sci 2021; 288:20202483. [PMID: 33434463 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.2483] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Evolutionary biologists typically envision a trait's genetic basis and fitness effects occurring within a single species. However, traits can be determined by and have fitness consequences for interacting species, thus evolving in multiple genomes. This is especially likely in mutualisms, where species exchange fitness benefits and can associate over long periods of time. Partners may experience evolutionary conflict over the value of a multi-genomic trait, but such conflicts may be ameliorated by mutualism's positive fitness feedbacks. Here, we develop a simulation model of a host-microbe mutualism to explore the evolution of a multi-genomic trait. Coevolutionary outcomes depend on whether hosts and microbes have similar or different optimal trait values, strengths of selection and fitness feedbacks. We show that genome-wide association studies can map joint traits to loci in multiple genomes and describe how fitness conflict and fitness feedback generate different multi-genomic architectures with distinct signals around segregating loci. Partner fitnesses can be positively correlated even when partners are in conflict over the value of a multi-genomic trait, and conflict can generate strong mutualistic dependency. While fitness alignment facilitates rapid adaptation to a new optimum, conflict maintains genetic variation and evolvability, with implications for applied microbiome science.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna M O'Brien
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Chandra N Jack
- Department of Plant Pathology, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, USA
| | - Maren L Friesen
- Department of Plant Pathology, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, USA.,Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, USA
| | - Megan E Frederickson
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
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9
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Ramírez-Flores MR, Perez-Limon S, Li M, Barrales-Gamez B, Albinsky D, Paszkowski U, Olalde-Portugal V, Sawers RJH. The genetic architecture of host response reveals the importance of arbuscular mycorrhizae to maize cultivation. eLife 2020; 9:e61701. [PMID: 33211006 PMCID: PMC7676867 DOI: 10.7554/elife.61701] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2020] [Accepted: 10/30/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are ubiquitous in cultivated soils, forming symbiotic relationships with the roots of major crop species. Studies in controlled conditions have demonstrated the potential of AMF to enhance the growth of host plants. However, it is difficult to estimate the actual benefit in the field, not least because of the lack of suitable AMF-free controls. Here we implement a novel strategy using the selective incorporation of AMF-resistance into a genetic mapping population to evaluate maize response to AMF. We found AMF to account for about one-third of the grain production in a medium input field, as well as to affect the relative performance of different plant genotypes. Characterization of the genetic architecture of the host response indicated a trade-off between mycorrhizal dependence and benefit. We identified several QTL linked to host benefit, supporting the feasibility of breeding crops to maximize profit from symbiosis with AMF.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Rosario Ramírez-Flores
- Departamento de Biotecnología y Bioquímica, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional (CINVESTAV-IPN)IrapuatoMexico
| | - Sergio Perez-Limon
- Laboratorio Nacional de Genómica para la Biodiversidad/Unidad de Genómica Avanzada, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados, Instituto Politécnico Nacional (CINVESTAV-IPN)IrapuatoMexico
| | - Meng Li
- Department of Plant Science, The Pennsylvania State UniversityState CollegeUnited States
| | - Benjamín Barrales-Gamez
- Laboratorio Nacional de Genómica para la Biodiversidad/Unidad de Genómica Avanzada, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados, Instituto Politécnico Nacional (CINVESTAV-IPN)IrapuatoMexico
| | - Doris Albinsky
- Crop Science Centre and Department of Plant Sciences, University of CambridgeCambridgeUnited Kingdom
| | - Uta Paszkowski
- Crop Science Centre and Department of Plant Sciences, University of CambridgeCambridgeUnited Kingdom
| | - Víctor Olalde-Portugal
- Departamento de Biotecnología y Bioquímica, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional (CINVESTAV-IPN)IrapuatoMexico
| | - Ruairidh JH Sawers
- Department of Plant Science, The Pennsylvania State UniversityState CollegeUnited States
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10
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Wagner MR, Roberts JH, Balint-Kurti P, Holland JB. Heterosis of leaf and rhizosphere microbiomes in field-grown maize. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2020; 228:1055-1069. [PMID: 32521050 DOI: 10.1111/nph.16730] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2020] [Accepted: 05/28/2020] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Macroorganisms' genotypes shape their phenotypes, which in turn shape the habitat available to potential microbial symbionts. This influence of host genotype on microbiome composition has been demonstrated in many systems; however, most previous studies have either compared unrelated genotypes or delved into molecular mechanisms. As a result, it is currently unclear whether the heritability of host-associated microbiomes follows similar patterns to the heritability of other complex traits. We take a new approach to this question by comparing the microbiomes of diverse maize inbred lines and their F1 hybrid offspring, which we quantified in both rhizosphere and leaves of field-grown plants using 16S-v4 and ITS1 amplicon sequencing. We show that inbred lines and hybrids differ consistently in the composition of bacterial and fungal rhizosphere communities, as well as leaf-associated fungal communities. A wide range of microbiome features display heterosis within individual crosses, consistent with patterns for nonmicrobial maize phenotypes. For leaf microbiomes, these results were supported by the observation that broad-sense heritability in hybrids was substantially higher than narrow-sense heritability. Our results support our hypothesis that at least some heterotic host traits affect microbiome composition in maize.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maggie R Wagner
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 66045, USA
- Kansas Biological Survey, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 66045, USA
| | - Joseph H Roberts
- Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA
| | - Peter Balint-Kurti
- Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA
- Plant Science Research Unit, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA
| | - James B Holland
- Plant Science Research Unit, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA
- Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA
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11
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Baltrus DA. Bacterial dispersal and biogeography as underappreciated influences on phytobiomes. CURRENT OPINION IN PLANT BIOLOGY 2020; 56:37-46. [PMID: 32278259 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbi.2020.02.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2019] [Revised: 02/14/2020] [Accepted: 02/25/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Bacterial strains are not distributed evenly throughout the environment. Here I explore how differential distribution and dispersal patterns of bacteria could affect interactions and coevolutionary dynamics with plants, and highlight ways that variation could be taken advantage of to develop robust and effective microbial consortia to inoculate crops. Questions about biogeographical patterns in viruses, fungi, and other eukaryotes are equally as prevalent and important for agriculture, and are in some cases more thoroughly explored. For simplicity as well as to bring attention to bacterial biogeography and dispersal in the context of plant interactions, I focus solely on bacterial patterns and questions for this article. The next few years will no doubt bring great advances in our understanding of dispersal capabilities and population dynamics for many plant-associated bacteria, and one of the next looming challenges will be learning to harvest this diversity in ways that can benefit agriculture.
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Affiliation(s)
- David A Baltrus
- School of Plant Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson AZ, USA; School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson AZ, USA.
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12
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O'Brien AM, Laurich J, Lash E, Frederickson ME. Mutualistic Outcomes Across Plant Populations, Microbes, and Environments in the Duckweed Lemna minor. MICROBIAL ECOLOGY 2020; 80:384-397. [PMID: 32123959 DOI: 10.1007/s00248-019-01452-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2019] [Accepted: 10/03/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
The picture emerging from the rapidly growing literature on host-associated microbiota is that host traits and fitness often depend on interactive effects of host genotype, microbiota, and abiotic environment. However, testing interactive effects typically requires large, multi-factorial experiments and thus remains challenging in many systems. Furthermore, most studies of plant microbiomes focus on terrestrial hosts and microbes. Aquatic habitats may confer unique properties to microbiomes. We grew different populations of duckweed (Lemna minor), a floating aquatic plant, in three microbial treatments (adding no, "home", or "away" microbes) at two levels of zinc, a common water contaminant in urban areas, and measured both plant and microbial performance. Thus, we simultaneously manipulated plant source population, microbial community, and abiotic environment. We found strong effects of plant source, microbial treatment, and zinc on duckweed and microbial growth, with significant variation among duckweed genotypes and microbial communities. However, we found little evidence of interactive effects: zinc did not alter effects of host genotype or microbial community, and host genotype did not alter effects of microbial communities. Despite strong positive correlations between duckweed and microbe growth, zinc consistently decreased plant growth, but increased microbial growth. Furthermore, as in recent studies of terrestrial plants, microbial interactions altered a duckweed phenotype (frond aggregation). Our results suggest that duckweed source population, associated microbiome, and contaminant environment should all be considered for duckweed applications, such as phytoremediation. Lastly, we propose that duckweed microbes offer a robust experimental system for study of host-microbiota interactions under a range of environmental stresses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna M O'Brien
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 3B2, Canada.
| | - Jason Laurich
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 3B2, Canada
| | - Emma Lash
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 3B2, Canada
| | - Megan E Frederickson
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 3B2, Canada
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13
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Peede D, Coughlan J. Digest: Biotic interactions shape local adaptation in teosinte populations*. Evolution 2019; 73:2343-2344. [DOI: 10.1111/evo.13857] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2019] [Accepted: 09/12/2019] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- David Peede
- Biology DepartmentUniversity of North Carolina Chapel Hill North Carolina 27514
| | - Jenn Coughlan
- Biology DepartmentUniversity of North Carolina Chapel Hill North Carolina 27514
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