Intermediate wheatgrass seed microbiome
Seed endophytes have a significant impact on plant health and fitness. They can be inherited and passed on to the next plant generation. However, the impact of breeding on their composition in seeds is less understood. Here, we studied the indigenous seed microbiome of an only recently domesticated perennial crop plant (Thinopyrum intermedium L.) that promises great potential for harnessing microorganisms to enhance crop performance by a multiphasic approach (amplicon and strain libraries,  molecular and physiological assays). All intermediate wheatgrass seeds harvested from four field sites in Europe over three consecutive years were dominated by Proteobacteria (88%), followed by Firmicutes (10%). Pantoea was the most abundant genera and Pantoea agglomerans was identified as the only core taxon present in all samples. While bacterial diversity and species richness were similar across all accessions, the relative abundance varied especially in terms of low abundant and rare taxa. Seeds from four different breeding cycles (TLI C3, C5, C7, C8) showed significant differences in bacterial community composition and abundance. We found a decrease in the relative abundance of the functional genes nirK and nifH  a drop in bacterial diversity and richness, associated with a loss of ASVs in Actinobacteria, Alphaproteobacteria, and Bacilli, which could be partially compensated in offspring seeds, cultivated at a new site. Interestingly, only a subset assigned to potentially beneficial bacteria, e. g. Pantoea, Kosakonia, and Pseudomonas, was transmitted to the next plant generation or shared with offspring seeds.