Influences of plant maternal effects, chemotype, and environment on the leaf bacterial community.

Plant individuals within a species can differ markedly in their leaf chemical composition, forming so-called chemotypes. Little is known about whether such differences impact the microbial communities associated with leaves and how different environmental conditions may shape these relationships. We used Tanacetum vulgare as a model plant to study the impacts of maternal effects, leaf terpenoid chemotype, and the environment on the leaf bacterial community by growing plant clones in the field and a greenhouse.

Selenium alters the gene content but not the taxonomic composition of the soil microbiome.

Background: Microbiomes, essential to ecosystem processes, face strong selective forces that can drive rapid evolutionary adaptation. However, our understanding of evolutionary processes within natural systems remains limited. We investigated evolution in response to naturally occurring selenium in soils of different geological parental materials on the Western Slope of Colorado.

Insect-microbe interactions and their influence on organisms and ecosystems.

Microorganisms are important associates of insect and arthropod species. Insect-associated microbes, including bacteria, fungi, and viruses, can drastically impact host physiology, ecology, and fitness, while many microbes still have no known role. Over the past decade, we have increased our knowledge of the taxonomic composition and functional roles of insect-associated microbiomes and viromes.

Soil microbiota and herbivory drive the assembly of tomato plant-associated microbial communities through different mechanisms.

Plant-associated microbial communities are key to shaping many aspects of plant biology. In this study, we tested whether soil microbial communities and herbivory influence the bacterial community of tomato plants and whether their influence in different plant compartments is driven by microbial spillover between compartments or whether plants are involved in mediating this effect. We grew our plants in soils hosting three different microbial communities and covered (or not) the soil surface to prevent (or allow) passive microbial spillover between compartments, and we exposed them (or not) to herbivory by Manduca sexta.

Comparative transcriptome profiling and co-expression network analysis uncover the key genes associated with pear petal defense responses against infection.

Pear brown rot and blossom blight caused by seriously affect pear production worldwide. Here, we compared the transcriptomic profiles of petals after inoculation with using two pear cultivars with different levels of sensitivity to disease (Sissy, a relatively tolerant cultivar, and Kristalli, a highly susceptible cultivar). Physiological indexes were also monitored in the petals of both cultivars at 2 h and 48 h after infection (2 HAI and 48 HAI).