Rhizosphere microbes of sugar maple along elevation gradient
Root-associated microbes can alleviate plant abiotic stresses, thus potentially supporting adaptation to a changing climate or to novel environments during range expansion. While climate change is extending plant species fundamental niches northward, the distribution and colonization of mutualists (e.g., arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi) and pathogens may constrain plant growth and regeneration. Yet, the degree to which biotic and abiotic factors impact plant performance and associated microbial communities at the edge of their distribution remains unclear. Here, we used root microscopy analysis, coupled with amplicon sequencing, to study bacterial, fungal, and mycorrhizal root-associated microbial communities from sugar maple seedlings distributed across two temperate-to-boreal elevational gradients in southern Quebec, Canada.