The rhizosphere microbiome of plants from genus Vaccinium across cultivated, wild and transplanted systems.
The genus Vaccinium comprises nutrient-rich crops of increasing relevance for sustainable agriculture, including blueberries and bilberries, although plant-associated microbiomes are key contributors to crop resilience under climate change, the relative roles of soil context, management intensity, and plant provenance in shaping Vaccinium-associated microbiomes remain poorly understood. Here, we used Vaccinium corymbosum (highbush blueberry) and Vaccinium myrtillus (European bilberry) to investigate changes in the microbiome of genus Vaccinium across contrasting management conditions including wild bilberries with transplanted and cultivated blueberry individuals. We show that genus Vaccinium supports significantly different microbiomes for contrasting environmental conditions. Agricultural management exerts a dominant influence on belowground bacterial and fungal communities, partially overriding host species identity and historical microbial legacy. Indicator Species Analysis revealed different taxa such as Penicillium and Solicoccozyma that characterize managed rhizospheres, and Podila and Serendipita associated with wild systems. Overall, our results demonstrate the large plasticity of genus Vaccinium supports significant changes in its microbiome across species and environmental conditions, with important implications for plant–microbe interactions and sustainable Vaccinium cultivation.