title: The microbiome of the leaf surface of Arabidopsis protects against a fungal pathogen.
abstract: We have explored the importance of the phyllosphere microbiome in plant resistance in the cuticle mutants bdg (BODYGUARD) or lacs2.3 (LONG CHAIN FATTY ACID SYNTHASE 2) that are strongly resistant to the fungal pathogen Botrytis cinerea. The study includes infection of plants under sterile conditions, 16S ribosomal DNA sequencing of the phyllosphere microbiome, and isolation and high coverage sequencing of bacteria from the phyllosphere. When inoculated under sterile conditions bdg became as susceptible as wild-type (WT) plants whereas lacs2.3 mutants retained the resistance. Adding washes of its phyllosphere microbiome could restore the resistance of bdg mutants, whereas the resistance of lacs2.3 results from endogenous mechanisms. The phyllosphere microbiome showed distinct populations in WT plants compared to cuticle mutants. One species identified as Pseudomonas sp isolated from the microbiome of bdg provided resistance to B. cinerea on Arabidopsis thaliana as well as on apple fruits. No direct activity was observed against B. cinerea and the action of the bacterium required the plant. Thus, microbes present on the plant surface contribute to the resistance to B. cinerea. These results open new perspectives on the function of the leaf microbiome in the protection of plants.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Fribourg, 10 chemin du Musée, CH-1700, Fribourg, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Unyarat
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Ritpitakphong
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Fribourg, 10 chemin du Musée, CH-1700, Fribourg, Switzerland.|Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, University of Fribourg, 10 Chemin du Musée, CH-1700, Fribourg, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Laurent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Falquet
authors.affiliation: Product & Technology Development Center, SCG Paper Plc, 1 Siam Cement Road, Bangsue, Bangkok, 10800, Thailand.
authors.forename: Artit
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vimoltust
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Fribourg, 10 chemin du Musée, CH-1700, Fribourg, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Antoine
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Berger
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Fribourg, 10 chemin du Musée, CH-1700, Fribourg, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Jean-Pierre
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Métraux
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Fribourg, 10 chemin du Musée, CH-1700, Fribourg, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Floriane
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: L'Haridon
mesh_terms: D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000382:microbiology*; D020171:Botrytis / Q000502:physiology*; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000378:metabolism; D060467:Disease Resistance; D064307:Microbiota; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics; D010802:Phylogeny; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000382:microbiology; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial
keywords: Arabidopsis thaliana; Botrytis cinerea; Pseudomonas; cuticle permeability; phyllosphere diversity; plant protection