| Summary: | Plant hormones have been recently shown to exert an indirect influence on the recruitment of plant-associated microbiomes. However, it remains unclear the extent to which the disruption of the ethylene (ET) signaling pathway affects the assembly and functioning of plant-root microbiomes. In this study, the Never-ripe tomato mutant (<i>Nr</i>) was profiled for differences compared to the wild type (control). Tomato plants were subjected to root exudate profiling and the characterization of bacterial and fungal communities. Compared to the control, <i>Nr</i> revealed differences in the composition of root exudates, including lower amounts of esculetin, gallic acid, L-fucose, eicosapentaenoic acid, and higher amounts of β-aldehyde. Interestingly, <i>Nr</i> significantly differed in the composition and functioning of the rhizosphere bacterial community. We also identified the taxa that occurred at relatively higher abundances in <i>Nr</i>, including the genus <i>Lysobacter</i>, which displayed a significant negative correlation with changes in eicosapentaenoic acid and esculetin, and a significant positive correlation with changes in β-aldehyde. Taken together, our study provides evidence that a mutation in the ET receptor exerts predictable changes in the root-associated microbial taxa of tomato plants. These indirect effects can potentially be explored towards new strategies to engineer beneficial plant microbiomes via targeted changes in plant genetics and physiology.
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