The ancestral environment of teosinte populations shapes their root microbiome

Christopher J. Barnes*, Maria Sophie Bünner, M. Rosario Ramírez-Flores, Ida Broman Nielsen, Jazmin Ramos-Madrigal, Daria Zharikova, Chloee M. McLaughlin, M. Thomas Gilbert, Ruairidh J. H. Sawers

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

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Abstract

Background: The composition of the root microbiome affects the host’s growth, with variation in the host genome associated with microbiome variation. However, it is not known whether this intra-specific variation of root microbiomes is a consequence of plants performing targeted manipulations of them to adapt to their local environment or varying passively with other traits. To explore the relationship between the genome, environment and microbiome, we sampled seeds from teosinte populations across its native range in Mexico. We then grew teosinte accessions alongside two modern maize lines in a common garden experiment. Metabarcoding was performed using universal bacterial and fungal primers to profile their root microbiomes. Results: The root microbiome varied between the two modern maize lines and the teosinte accessions. We further found that variation of the teosinte genome, the ancestral environment (temperature/elevation) and root microbiome were all correlated. Multiple microbial groups significantly varied in relative abundance with temperature/elevation, with an increased abundance of bacteria associated with cold tolerance found in teosinte accessions taken from high elevations. Conclusions: Our results suggest that variation in the root microbiome is pre-conditioned by the genome for the local environment (i.e. non-random). Ultimately, these claims would be strengthened by confirming that these differences in the root microbiome impact host phenotype, for example, by confirming that the root microbiomes of high-elevation teosinte populations enhance cold tolerance.

Original languageEnglish
Article number64
JournalEnvironmental Microbiome
Volume19
Number of pages14
ISSN1944-3277
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2024.

Keywords

  • Adaptation
  • Holobiont
  • Hologenome
  • Maize
  • Microbiome
  • Plant-microbiome coevolution
  • Teosinte

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