Heterosis of leaf and rhizosphere microbiomes in field-grown maize.

Macroorganisms' genotypes shape their phenotypes, which in turn shape the habitat available to potential microbial symbionts. This influence of host genotype on microbiome composition has been demonstrated in many systems; however, most previous studies have either compared unrelated genotypes or delved into molecular mechanisms. As a result, it is currently unclear whether the heritability of host-associated microbiomes follows similar patterns to the heritability of other complex traits.