Ecological drivers of the core microbiota of photosynthetic organisms
In nature, plants constantly interact with their environment and surrounding microbiota, with which they engage in specialized interactions. Recently, it has been shown that land plants and other photosynthetic species, such as soil algae, interact with high-taxonomic-level core bacterial and fungal groups. This suggests that these core microbes are adapted to the niches created by their photosynthetic hosts, and to co-habiting with one another. However, we currently lack an understanding on whether core microbiotas, while stable at high taxonomic levels, vary at species level and whether this variation is driven by environmental factors, such as climatic variables, soil composition or plant communities. To address this, we have surveyed soil algal populations, and their associated core microbiota, in 150 natural sites across the Southwest of France. By performing amplicon sequencing of algae (18S), bacterial (16S) and fungal (ITS) communities, we first described the ecological variables which determine algal populations and their associated core microbiota in natural sites. Then, we built interaction networks between core members, showing that their connections at the species level are affected by environmental conditions, whereas they are robust across habitats at high taxonomic level.
In nature, plants constantly interact with their environment and surrounding microbiota, with which they engage in specialized interactions. Recently, it has been shown that land plants and other photosynthetic species, such as soil algae, interact with high-taxonomic-level core bacterial and fungal groups. This suggests that these core microbes are adapted to the niches created by their photosynthetic hosts, and to co-habiting with one another. However, we currently lack an understanding on whether core microbiotas, while stable at high taxonomic levels, vary at species level and whether this variation is driven by environmental factors, such as climatic variables, soil composition or plant communities. To address this, we have surveyed soil algal populations, and their associated core microbiota, in 150 natural sites across the Southwest of France. By performing amplicon sequencing of algae (18S), bacterial (16S) and fungal (ITS) communities, we first described the ecological variables which determine algal populations and their associated core microbiota in natural sites. Then, we built interaction networks between core members, showing that their connections at the species level are affected by environmental conditions, whereas they are robust across habitats at high taxonomic level.
Laboratory for Plant-Microbe-Environment Interactions