title: Tree phyllosphere bacterial communities: exploring the magnitude of intra- and inter-individual variation among host species.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The diversity and composition of the microbial community of tree leaves (the phyllosphere) varies among trees and host species and along spatial, temporal, and environmental gradients. Phyllosphere community variation within the canopy of an individual tree exists but the importance of this variation relative to among-tree and among-species variation is poorly understood. Sampling techniques employed for phyllosphere studies include picking leaves from one canopy location to mixing randomly selected leaves from throughout the canopy. In this context, our goal was to characterize the relative importance of intra-individual variation in phyllosphere communities across multiple species, and compare this variation to inter-individual and interspecific variation of phyllosphere epiphytic bacterial communities in a natural temperate forest in Quebec, Canada.
  
  
  METHODS
  We targeted five dominant temperate forest tree species including angiosperms and gymnosperms: Acer saccharum, Acer rubrum, Betula papyrifera, Abies balsamea and Picea glauca. For one randomly selected tree of each species, we sampled microbial communities at six distinct canopy locations: bottom-canopy (1-2 m height), the four cardinal points of mid-canopy (2-4 m height), and the top-canopy (4-6 m height). We also collected bottom-canopy leaves from five additional trees from each species.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Based on an analysis of bacterial community structure measured via Illumina sequencing of the bacterial 16S gene, we demonstrate that 65% of the intra-individual variation in leaf bacterial community structure could be attributed to the effect of inter-individual and inter-specific differences while the effect of canopy location was not significant. In comparison, host species identity explains 47% of inter-individual and inter-specific variation in leaf bacterial community structure followed by individual identity (32%) and canopy location (6%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results suggest that individual samples from consistent positions within the tree canopy from multiple individuals per species can be used to accurately quantify variation in phyllosphere bacterial community structure. However, the considerable amount of intra-individual variation within a tree canopy ask for a better understanding of how changes in leaf characteristics and local abiotic conditions drive spatial variation in the phyllosphere microbiome.
authors.affiliation: Centre d'étude de la forêt, Montreal, Canada; Sciences Biologiques, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: Isabelle
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Laforest-Lapointe
authors.affiliation: Centre d'étude de la forêt, Montreal, Canada; Sciences Biologiques, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; ISFORT - Institut des Sciences de la Forêt Tempérée, Université du Québec en Outaouais, Ripon, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Messier
authors.affiliation: Centre d'étude de la forêt, Montreal, Canada; Sciences Biologiques, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: Steven W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Kembel
keywords: Bioindicator; Inter-individual variation; Interspecific variation; Intra-individual variation; Microbiome; Phyllosphere; Plant-bacteria interaction; Temperate forest