ena-STUDY-Graz University of Technology-26-01-2017-02:18:58:588-237
Plant-host genotype as drivers of fungal community structure and the antagonistic potential of fungi on the leaves of indoor plants
Exploration of the phyllosphere community revealed its many beneficial effects on plants and in built environments. Whereas most reports focus on bacterial communities on the phyllosphere a number of literatures showed that the foliar surface also hosts fungal colonists. Thus far, there is limited understanding of the fungal community structure in the phyllosphere of plants, and even less in plants found inside a built environment and the relationship of the fungal community structure to plant-host and the ambient room microclimate. To study the variability of the microbiome in relation to plant genotype and climate, 14 phylogenetically diverse plant species grown under different controlled conditions in the greenhouses of the Botanical Garden in Graz (Austria) were investigated. All plant species showed high plant-specific fungal abundances of up to 106 CFU cm-2 on their leaves. Fungal diversity diversity (Shannon index H': 4.2 – 6.5) and number of putative OTUs (Chao 1: 1,409 – 2,056) were strongly plant species-dependent, but comprised similar dominant orders: Capniodiales from phylum Ascomycota, and Wallemialles and Tremellales from phylum Basidiomycota. Non-metric multidimensional scaling and BIO-ENV analysis showed a higher correlation of community composition to plant genotype relative to the ambient climatic variables. The antagonistic potential of the phyllosphere microbiome towards the plant pathogen Botrytis cinerea measured by production of antifungal volatile organic compounds (VOCs) differed in a range between 0 and 33% of the isolates. Fungi isolated from the phyllosphere also exhibited VOCs-based antifungal activity; inhibiting B. cinerea mycelial growth by 32.89% - 72.23%. Frequently isolated active VOCs produces were represented by Penicillum spp., Cladosporium spp., and Cryptococcus spp. This study indicates that plants grown indoors support distinctive fungal communities that features antagonistic potential, and harbors a stable phyllosphere microbial diversity regardless of microclimate and abiotic conditions of a room. Hence, these plants maintain their microbiome independently from their surroundings that could have beneficial effects on microbial diversity and our health inside buildings in general.
Exploration of the phyllosphere community revealed its many beneficial effects on plants and in built environments. Whereas most reports focus on bacterial communities on the phyllosphere a number of literatures showed that the foliar surface also hosts fungal colonists. Thus far, there is limited understanding of the fungal community structure in the phyllosphere of plants, and even less in plants found inside a built environment and the relationship of the fungal community structure to plant-host and the ambient room microclimate. To study the variability of the microbiome in relation to plant genotype and climate, 14 phylogenetically diverse plant species grown under different controlled conditions in the greenhouses of the Botanical Garden in Graz (Austria) were investigated. All plant species showed high plant-specific fungal abundances of up to 106 CFU cm-2 on their leaves. Fungal diversity diversity (Shannon index H': 4.2 – 6.5) and number of putative OTUs (Chao 1: 1,409 – 2,056) were strongly plant species-dependent, but comprised similar dominant orders: Capniodiales from phylum Ascomycota, and Wallemialles and Tremellales from phylum Basidiomycota. Non-metric multidimensional scaling and BIO-ENV analysis showed a higher correlation of community composition to plant genotype relative to the ambient climatic variables. The antagonistic potential of the phyllosphere microbiome towards the plant pathogen Botrytis cinerea measured by production of antifungal volatile organic compounds (VOCs) differed in a range between 0 and 33% of the isolates. Fungi isolated from the phyllosphere also exhibited VOCs-based antifungal activity; inhibiting B. cinerea mycelial growth by 32.89% - 72.23%. Frequently isolated active VOCs produces were represented by Penicillum spp., Cladosporium spp., and Cryptococcus spp. This study indicates that plants grown indoors support distinctive fungal communities that features antagonistic potential, and harbors a stable phyllosphere microbial diversity regardless of microclimate and abiotic conditions of a room. Hence, these plants maintain their microbiome independently from their surroundings that could have beneficial effects on microbial diversity and our health inside buildings in general.