Comparative colonization and assembly of top-down and bottom-up cross-kingdom synthetic communities in soybean (Glycine max)
This project investigates the colonization and assembly of four distinct cross-kingdom SynComs in soybean (Glycine max). We employed two different construction strategies: A top-down approach to develop niche-specific consortia derived from the rhizosphere (SynCom3), root endosphere (SynCom6), and leaf endosphere (SynCom9). A bottom-up approach to design a universal, rationally-selected cross-kingdom consortium (SynCom12). To evaluate the establishment and persistence of these inoculated strains, we performed amplicon sequencing of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene (V4 region) and fungal ITS region across three plant compartments (rhizosphere, root endosphere, and leaf endosphere). This dataset provides insights into the rules of cross-kingdom microbial recruitment and the efficacy of different SynCom design strategies in a legume host.