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Simultaneous profiling of seed‐associated bacteria and fungi reveals antagonistic interactions between microorganisms within a shared epiphytic microbiome on T riticum and B rassica seeds
Author(s) -
Links Matthew G.,
Demeke Tigst,
Gräfenhan Tom,
Hill Janet E.,
Hemmingsen Sean M.,
Dumonceaux Tim J.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
new phytologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.742
H-Index - 244
eISSN - 1469-8137
pISSN - 0028-646X
DOI - 10.1111/nph.12693
Subject(s) - biology , microorganism , microbiome , epiphyte , operational taxonomic unit , orchidaceae , botany , bacteria , metagenomics , methylobacterium , microbial ecology , microbial population biology , proteobacteria , microbiology and biotechnology , 16s ribosomal rna , genetics , gene
Summary In order to address the hypothesis that seeds from ecologically and geographically diverse plants harbor characteristic epiphytic microbiota, we characterized the bacterial and fungal microbiota associated with T riticum and B rassica seed surfaces. The total microbial complement was determined by amplification and sequencing of a fragment of chaperonin 60 ( cpn60 ). Specific microorganisms were quantified by q PCR . Bacteria and fungi corresponding to operational taxonomic units ( OTU ) that were identified in the sequencing study were isolated and their interactions examined. A total of 5477 OTU were observed from seed washes. Neither total epiphytic bacterial load nor community richness/evenness was significantly different between the seed types; 578 OTU were shared among all samples at a variety of abundances. Hierarchical clustering revealed that 203 were significantly different in abundance on T riticum seeds compared with B rassica . Microorganisms isolated from seeds showed 99–100% identity between the cpn60 sequences of the isolates and the OTU sequences from this shared microbiome. Bacterial strains identified as P antoea agglomerans had antagonistic properties toward one of the fungal isolates ( A lternaria sp.), providing a possible explanation for their reciprocal abundances on both T riticum and B rassica seeds. cpn60 enabled the simultaneous profiling of bacterial and fungal microbiota and revealed a core seed‐associated microbiota shared between diverse plant genera.