title: Associations with rhizosphere bacteria can confer an adaptive advantage to plants.
abstract: Host-associated microbiomes influence host health. However, it is unclear whether genotypic variations in host organisms influence the microbiome in ways that have adaptive consequences for the host. Here, we show that wild accessions ofArabidopsis thalianadiffer in their ability to associate with the root-associated bacteriumPseudomonas fluorescens, with consequences for plant fitness. In a screen of 196 naturally occurringArabidopsisaccessions we identified lines that actively suppressPseudomonasgrowth under gnotobiotic conditions. We planted accessions that support disparate levels of fluorescent Pseudomonads in natural soils; 16S ribosomal RNA sequencing revealed that accession-specific differences in the microbial communities were largely limited to a subset of Pseudomonadaceae species. These accession-specific differences inPseudomonasgrowth resulted in enhanced or impaired fitness that depended on the host's ability to supportPseudomonasgrowth, the specificPseudomonasstrains present in the soil and the nature of the stress. We suggest that small host-mediated changes in a microbiome can have large effects on host health.
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA.; Department of Molecular Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA.
authors.forename: Cara H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Haney
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA.; Department of Molecular Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA.
authors.forename: Buck S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Samuel
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA.
authors.forename: Jenifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bush
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA.; Department of Molecular Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA.
authors.forename: Frederick M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Ausubel