Prokaryotic taxa play keystone roles in the soil microbiome associated with woody perennial plants in the genus Buxus. Issue 19 (26th August 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: LeBlanc, Nicholas; Crouch, Jo Anne
• Is Part Of: Ecology and evolution. Volume 9:Issue 19(2019)
• Page Start: 11102
• Page End: 11111
• Publication Date: 2019-08-26
• Subjects: archaea -- bacteria -- boxwood -- fungi -- soil microbiome; Ecology -- Periodicals; Evolution -- Periodicals; 577.05
• DOI: 10.1002/ece3.5614
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2045-7758

Abstract

Abstract: The microbiome associated with ornamental plants has largely been neglected, despite its potential for impacting plant health. This work characterized the composition, diversity, and microbial co‐associations in the soil microbiome associated with species and cultivars of plant in the genus Buxus (common name boxwood), a group of woody perennial shrubs commonly used in residential landscapes and found in native ecosystems. Soil was collected from 82 individual curated boxwood accessions at the U.S. National Arboretum National Boxwood Collection. Amplicon libraries targeting archaea, bacteria, and fungi were generated and sequenced using the Illumina MiSeq platform. Identification of individual sequence variants resulted in 275 archaeal, 15, 580 bacterial, and 7, 525 fungal taxa. Neither spatial distance among samples nor association with different types of boxwood were significant predictors of soil microbiome composition. However, archaeal and bacterial diversity was significantly different in soil from distinct types of boxwood. Co‐association networks indicated that archaea and bacteria show greater evidence of being keystone taxa than fungi. Overall, this work demonstrates the potential for targeting specific keystone taxa to shift the soil microbiome associated with these boxwood accessions and that planting different species or cultivars in the landscape may shift the diversity of prokaryotic microorganisms. Abstract : Archaea, bacteria, and fungi in soil associated with perennial boxwood shrubs were characterized using meta‐barcoding. Archaeal and bacterial diversity was influenced by boxwood species/cultivar and prokaryotes showed evidence of being keystone taxa in the soil microbiome.