Variation in the leaf and root microbiome of sugar maple (Acer saccharum) at an elevational range limit
Background Bacteria, archaea, viruses and fungi live in various plant compartments including leaves and roots. These plant-associated microbial communities have many effects on host fitness and function. Global climate change is impacting plant species distributions, a phenomenon that will affect pl...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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PeerJ Inc.
2018-08-01
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| Series: | PeerJ |
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| Online Access: | https://peerj.com/articles/5293.pdf |
| _version_ | 1827607554419589120 |
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| author | Jessica Wallace Isabelle Laforest-Lapointe Steven W. Kembel |
| author_facet | Jessica Wallace Isabelle Laforest-Lapointe Steven W. Kembel |
| author_sort | Jessica Wallace |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background Bacteria, archaea, viruses and fungi live in various plant compartments including leaves and roots. These plant-associated microbial communities have many effects on host fitness and function. Global climate change is impacting plant species distributions, a phenomenon that will affect plant-microbe interactions both directly and indirectly. In order to predict plant responses to global climate change, it will be crucial to improve our understanding of plant-microbe interactions within and at the edge of plant species natural ranges. While microbes affect their hosts, in turn the plant’s attributes and the surrounding environment drive the structure and assembly of the microbial communities themselves. However, the patterns and dynamics of these interactions and their causes are poorly understood. Methods In this study, we quantified the microbial communities of the leaves and roots of seedlings of the deciduous tree species sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marshall) within its natural range and at the species’ elevational range limit at Mont-Mégantic, Quebec. Using high-throughput DNA sequencing, we quantified the bacterial and fungal community structure in four plant compartments: the epiphytes and endophytes of leaves and roots. We also quantified endophytic fungal communities in roots. Results The bacterial and fungal communities of A. saccharum seedlings differ across elevational range limits for all four plant compartments. Distinct microbial communities colonize each compartment, although the microbial communities inside a plant’s structure (endophytes) were found to be a subset of the communities found outside the plant’s structure (epiphytes). Plant-associated bacterial communities were dominated by the phyla Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria and Bacteroidetes while the main fungal taxa present were Ascomycota. Discussion We demonstrate that microbial communities associated with sugar maple seedlings at the edge of the species’ elevational range differ from those within the natural range. Variation in microbial communities differed among plant components, suggesting the importance of each compartment’s exposure to changes in biotic and abiotic conditions in determining variability in community structure. These findings provide a greater understanding of the ecological processes driving the structure and diversity of plant-associated microbial communities within and at the edge of a plant species range, and suggest the potential for biotic interactions between plants and their associated microbiota to influence the dynamics of plant range edge boundaries and responses to global change. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:55:43Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0556ac88541c48038cce35b7b182ae80 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2167-8359 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:55:43Z |
| publishDate | 2018-08-01 |
| publisher | PeerJ Inc. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PeerJ |
| spelling | doaj.art-0556ac88541c48038cce35b7b182ae802023-12-03T10:03:25ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592018-08-016e529310.7717/peerj.5293Variation in the leaf and root microbiome of sugar maple (Acer saccharum) at an elevational range limitJessica Wallace0Isabelle Laforest-Lapointe1Steven W. Kembel2Département des sciences biologiques, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, Québec, CanadaDépartement des sciences biologiques, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, Québec, CanadaDépartement des sciences biologiques, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, Québec, CanadaBackground Bacteria, archaea, viruses and fungi live in various plant compartments including leaves and roots. These plant-associated microbial communities have many effects on host fitness and function. Global climate change is impacting plant species distributions, a phenomenon that will affect plant-microbe interactions both directly and indirectly. In order to predict plant responses to global climate change, it will be crucial to improve our understanding of plant-microbe interactions within and at the edge of plant species natural ranges. While microbes affect their hosts, in turn the plant’s attributes and the surrounding environment drive the structure and assembly of the microbial communities themselves. However, the patterns and dynamics of these interactions and their causes are poorly understood. Methods In this study, we quantified the microbial communities of the leaves and roots of seedlings of the deciduous tree species sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marshall) within its natural range and at the species’ elevational range limit at Mont-Mégantic, Quebec. Using high-throughput DNA sequencing, we quantified the bacterial and fungal community structure in four plant compartments: the epiphytes and endophytes of leaves and roots. We also quantified endophytic fungal communities in roots. Results The bacterial and fungal communities of A. saccharum seedlings differ across elevational range limits for all four plant compartments. Distinct microbial communities colonize each compartment, although the microbial communities inside a plant’s structure (endophytes) were found to be a subset of the communities found outside the plant’s structure (epiphytes). Plant-associated bacterial communities were dominated by the phyla Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria and Bacteroidetes while the main fungal taxa present were Ascomycota. Discussion We demonstrate that microbial communities associated with sugar maple seedlings at the edge of the species’ elevational range differ from those within the natural range. Variation in microbial communities differed among plant components, suggesting the importance of each compartment’s exposure to changes in biotic and abiotic conditions in determining variability in community structure. These findings provide a greater understanding of the ecological processes driving the structure and diversity of plant-associated microbial communities within and at the edge of a plant species range, and suggest the potential for biotic interactions between plants and their associated microbiota to influence the dynamics of plant range edge boundaries and responses to global change.https://peerj.com/articles/5293.pdfPlant-microbe interactionsSugar mapleForest ecologyEnvironmental gradientMicrobial ecologyRange limit |
| spellingShingle | Jessica Wallace Isabelle Laforest-Lapointe Steven W. Kembel Variation in the leaf and root microbiome of sugar maple (Acer saccharum) at an elevational range limit PeerJ Plant-microbe interactions Sugar maple Forest ecology Environmental gradient Microbial ecology Range limit |
| title | Variation in the leaf and root microbiome of sugar maple (Acer saccharum) at an elevational range limit |
| title_full | Variation in the leaf and root microbiome of sugar maple (Acer saccharum) at an elevational range limit |
| title_fullStr | Variation in the leaf and root microbiome of sugar maple (Acer saccharum) at an elevational range limit |
| title_full_unstemmed | Variation in the leaf and root microbiome of sugar maple (Acer saccharum) at an elevational range limit |
| title_short | Variation in the leaf and root microbiome of sugar maple (Acer saccharum) at an elevational range limit |
| title_sort | variation in the leaf and root microbiome of sugar maple acer saccharum at an elevational range limit |
| topic | Plant-microbe interactions Sugar maple Forest ecology Environmental gradient Microbial ecology Range limit |
| url | https://peerj.com/articles/5293.pdf |
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