Community assembly in plant-bacterium symbiotic interactions in a
natural environment: Does host genetic variation matter?
Abstract
Community assembly of diverse mutualistic symbionts in host plants have
recently received much attention. On the other hand, for decades,
researchers have also focused on a role of genetic variation for shaping
ecological communities. However, it remains unclear how local
interaction networks between a host and symbionts are shaped from the
pool of genetically diverse microorganisms in the natural rhizosphere.
In this study, we comprehensively analyzed local and regional genetic
communities of Frankia in host individuals and in surrounding
soils using metabarcoding to unravel community assembly in shaping
interaction networks between plants and root nodule symbionts, both of
which are genetically diverse, in natural ecosystems. We found that
Frankia communities in rhizosphere soil were consisted of
tremendously diverse strains. The diverse Frankia communities in
rhizosphere soils were heterogeneously structured by the presence of
host individuals and soil nutritional status. Furthermore,
quantification of the filtering forces by community analysis
demonstrated that the filtering forces that shape symbiotic networks
would depend on genetic variation in the host plant. This study suggests
that filtering mechanisms and host genetics would have a profound role
in shaping plant-bacterium symbiotic networks in natural environments.