Leaf Endophyte Community Composition and Network Structures Differ Between Tolerant and Susceptible English Boxwood
Differential tolerance of English boxwood to boxwood blight has been linked to the ratio of culturable bacterial and fungal dominance in the leaf tissue of representative samples. To further understand how the whole endophyte communities may involve the tolerance of large samples, we extracted DNA f...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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The American Phytopathological Society
2023-09-01
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| Series: | Phytobiomes Journal |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/10.1094/PBIOMES-02-23-0009-FI |
| _version_ | 1797676669263151104 |
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| author | Ping Kong Xiaoping Li Melissa Sharifi Adria Bordas Chuanxue Hong |
| author_facet | Ping Kong Xiaoping Li Melissa Sharifi Adria Bordas Chuanxue Hong |
| author_sort | Ping Kong |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Differential tolerance of English boxwood to boxwood blight has been linked to the ratio of culturable bacterial and fungal dominance in the leaf tissue of representative samples. To further understand how the whole endophyte communities may involve the tolerance of large samples, we extracted DNA from healthy leaf tissue of previously identified 28 tolerant (T), 41 moderately tolerant (M), and 21 susceptible (S) English boxwood plants, then sequenced associated bacterial and fungal amplicons using the Nanopore MinION platform. The endophyte community did not differ in diversity among the T, M, and S plants but differed in the abundance of bacteria and fungi, particularly between T and S samples. The bacterial genera Brevundimonas and Ammonifex had higher relative abundance in the T and M communities than in the S community, in which the fungal genera Botrytis and Thermothelomyces and family Chaetomiaceae were more dominant. The same results were obtained when mother and daughter samples in the T community were compared with controls in the S community, suggesting bacteria as a work force in the T community. Cooccurrence network analyses revealed that the T network had more fungal hubs but was less complex, with more positive connections than the S network, suggesting that the T community was supported by a healthier network. The resistance of English boxwood to blight is likely attributed to bacteria dominance and a synergic community network. This study is foundational to constructing synthetic communities and using whole communities of tolerant plants through vegetative propagation for microbe-modulated immunity. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T22:33:38Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2ac93717467d4708a031ea5b86f5f03e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2471-2906 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T22:33:38Z |
| publishDate | 2023-09-01 |
| publisher | The American Phytopathological Society |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Phytobiomes Journal |
| spelling | doaj.art-2ac93717467d4708a031ea5b86f5f03e2023-09-22T23:26:54ZengThe American Phytopathological SocietyPhytobiomes Journal2471-29062023-09-017216017110.1094/PBIOMES-02-23-0009-FILeaf Endophyte Community Composition and Network Structures Differ Between Tolerant and Susceptible English BoxwoodPing Kong0Xiaoping Li1Melissa Sharifi2Adria Bordas3Chuanxue Hong4Virginia Tech, Hampton Roads Agricultural Research and Extension Center, 1444 Diamond Springs Road, VA Beach, VA 23455Virginia Tech, Hampton Roads Agricultural Research and Extension Center, 1444 Diamond Springs Road, VA Beach, VA 23455The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, P.O. Box 1776, Williamsburg, VA 23185Virginia Cooperative Extension, Fairfax Co., 12011 Government Center Parkway, Fairfax, VA 22035Virginia Tech, Hampton Roads Agricultural Research and Extension Center, 1444 Diamond Springs Road, VA Beach, VA 23455Differential tolerance of English boxwood to boxwood blight has been linked to the ratio of culturable bacterial and fungal dominance in the leaf tissue of representative samples. To further understand how the whole endophyte communities may involve the tolerance of large samples, we extracted DNA from healthy leaf tissue of previously identified 28 tolerant (T), 41 moderately tolerant (M), and 21 susceptible (S) English boxwood plants, then sequenced associated bacterial and fungal amplicons using the Nanopore MinION platform. The endophyte community did not differ in diversity among the T, M, and S plants but differed in the abundance of bacteria and fungi, particularly between T and S samples. The bacterial genera Brevundimonas and Ammonifex had higher relative abundance in the T and M communities than in the S community, in which the fungal genera Botrytis and Thermothelomyces and family Chaetomiaceae were more dominant. The same results were obtained when mother and daughter samples in the T community were compared with controls in the S community, suggesting bacteria as a work force in the T community. Cooccurrence network analyses revealed that the T network had more fungal hubs but was less complex, with more positive connections than the S network, suggesting that the T community was supported by a healthier network. The resistance of English boxwood to blight is likely attributed to bacteria dominance and a synergic community network. This study is foundational to constructing synthetic communities and using whole communities of tolerant plants through vegetative propagation for microbe-modulated immunity.https://apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/10.1094/PBIOMES-02-23-0009-FIendophytesmetagenomicsmicrobiomeplant pathology |
| spellingShingle | Ping Kong Xiaoping Li Melissa Sharifi Adria Bordas Chuanxue Hong Leaf Endophyte Community Composition and Network Structures Differ Between Tolerant and Susceptible English Boxwood Phytobiomes Journal endophytes metagenomics microbiome plant pathology |
| title | Leaf Endophyte Community Composition and Network Structures Differ Between Tolerant and Susceptible English Boxwood |
| title_full | Leaf Endophyte Community Composition and Network Structures Differ Between Tolerant and Susceptible English Boxwood |
| title_fullStr | Leaf Endophyte Community Composition and Network Structures Differ Between Tolerant and Susceptible English Boxwood |
| title_full_unstemmed | Leaf Endophyte Community Composition and Network Structures Differ Between Tolerant and Susceptible English Boxwood |
| title_short | Leaf Endophyte Community Composition and Network Structures Differ Between Tolerant and Susceptible English Boxwood |
| title_sort | leaf endophyte community composition and network structures differ between tolerant and susceptible english boxwood |
| topic | endophytes metagenomics microbiome plant pathology |
| url | https://apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/10.1094/PBIOMES-02-23-0009-FI |
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