Publications by authors named "Laura Leventhal"
Plants are colonized by distinct pathogenic and commensal microbiomes across different regions of the globe, but the factors driving their geographic variation are largely unknown. Here, using 16S ribosomal DNA and shotgun sequencing, we characterized the associations of the Arabidopsis thaliana leaf microbiome with host genetics and climate variables from 267 populations in the species' native range across Europe. Comparing the distribution of the 575 major bacterial amplicon variants (phylotypes), we discovered that microbiome composition in A.
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- - Anthropogenic factors like habitat loss and climate change are shrinking species' ranges, which heightens their extinction risk and diminishes genetic diversity.
- - The authors introduce a new mathematical framework that combines biodiversity theory with population genetics to analyze the decline of DNA mutations as habitats decrease.
- - By examining a large genomic dataset from various species, they find that genetic diversity declines in a predictable manner related to habitat area, estimating over 10% of genetic diversity has already been lost in many species, exceeding UN targets for conservation.