Premium
Assembly of root‐associated bacteria communities: interactions between abiotic and biotic factors
Author(s) -
Dean Sarah L,
Farrer Emily C,
PorrasAlfaro Andrea,
Suding Katharine N,
Sinsabaugh Robert L
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
environmental microbiology reports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.229
H-Index - 69
ISSN - 1758-2229
DOI - 10.1111/1758-2229.12194
Subject(s) - rab , abiotic component , biology , host (biology) , biotic component , ecology , pyrosequencing , botany , genetics , gene , gtpase
Summary Nitrogen ( N ) deposition in many areas of the world is over an order of magnitude greater than it would be in absence of human activity. We ask how abiotic ( N ) and biotic (plant host and neighborhood) effects interact to influence root‐associated bacterial ( RAB ) community assembly. Using 454 pyrosequencing, we examined RAB communities from two dominant alpine tundra plants, G eum rossii and D eschampsia cespitosa , under control, N addition and D . cespitosa removal treatments, implemented in a factorial design. We hypothesized that host would have the strongest effect on RAB assembly, followed by N , then neighbor effects. The most dominant phyla were P roteobacteria (mostly G ammaproteobacteria ), A ctinobacteria , B acteroidetes and A cidobacteria . We found RAB communities were host specific, with only 17% overlap in operational taxonomic units. Host effects on composition were over twice as strong as N effects. D . cespitosa RAB diversity declined with N , while G . rossii RAB did not. D . cespitosa removal did not influence G . rossii RAB community composition, but G . rossii RAB diversity declined with N only when D . cespitosa was absent. We conclude that RAB of both hosts are sensitive to N enrichment, and RAB response to N is influenced by host identity and plant neighborhood.