Host species and temperature drive beech and Scots pine phyllosphere microbiota across European forests

Tree-microbe interactions are essential for forest ecosystem functioning. Most plant–microbe research has focused on the rhizosphere, while composition of microbial communities in the phyllosphere remains underexplored. Here, we use 16S rRNA gene sequencing to explore differences between beech and Scots pine phyllospheric microbiomes at the European continental scale, map their functional profiles, and elucidate the role of host trees, forest features, and environmental factors such as climate and atmospheric deposition in phyllosphere microbiota assembly. We identified tree species and the associated foliar trait (specifically carbon:nitrogen ratio) as primary drivers of the bacterial communities. We characterized taxonomical and functional composition of epiphytic bacteria in the phyllosphere of beech and Scots pine across an environmental gradient from Fennoscandia to the Mediterranean area, with major changes in temperature and nitrogen deposition. We also showed that temperature and nitrogen deposition played a crucial role in affecting their assembly for both tree species. This study contributes to advancing our understanding on factors shaping phyllosphere microbial communities in beech and Scots pine at the European continental scale, highlighting the need of broad-scale comparative studies (covering a wide range of foliar traits and environmental conditions) to elucidate how phyllosphere microbiota mediates ecosystem responses to global change. Phyllosphere microbiota of beech and Scots pine at European continental scale is influenced by the host species and associated foliar traits, as well as by temperature and nitrogen deposition, according to 16S rRNA gene sequencing analyses on leaf epiphytic microbes.

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Publication Details

Journal
Communications Earth & Environment
Published
2024-11-29
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-024-01895-6
Citations
9
Primary Topic
Forest Insect Ecology and Management
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
4.13

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article

Host species and temperature drive beech and Scots pine phyllosphere microbiota across European forests

Anne Thimonier, Daniela Sangiorgio, Peter Waldner, Josep Peñuelas et al.
9 citations
Communications Earth & Environment
Forest Insect Ecology and Management
4.13
article

Host species and temperature drive beech and Scots pine phyllosphere microbiota across European forests

Anne Thimonier, Daniela Sangiorgio, Peter Waldner, Josep Peñuelas, Sofie Hellsten, Rossella Guerrieri, Elena Vanguelova, Joan Cáliz, Päivi Merilä, Emilio O. Casamayor, Manuel Nicolas, David Elustondo, Stefania Mattana, Arne Verstraeten, Gioṙgio Matteucci, Bruno De Cinti, Dario Ravaioli, Federico Magnani, Maurizio Mencuccini, Anna Barceló
article en
9 citations

Abstract

Tree-microbe interactions are essential for forest ecosystem functioning. Most plant–microbe research has focused on the rhizosphere, while composition of microbial communities in the phyllosphere remains underexplored. Here, we use 16S rRNA gene sequencing to explore differences between beech and Scots pine phyllospheric microbiomes at the European continental scale, map their functional profiles, and elucidate the role of host trees, forest features, and environmental factors such as climate and atmospheric deposition in phyllosphere microbiota assembly. We identified tree species and the associated foliar trait (specifically carbon:nitrogen ratio) as primary drivers of the bacterial communities. We characterized taxonomical and functional composition of epiphytic bacteria in the phyllosphere of beech and Scots pine across an environmental gradient from Fennoscandia to the Mediterranean area, with major changes in temperature and nitrogen deposition. We also showed that temperature and nitrogen deposition played a crucial role in affecting their assembly for both tree species. This study contributes to advancing our understanding on factors shaping phyllosphere microbial communities in beech and Scots pine at the European continental scale, highlighting the need of broad-scale comparative studies (covering a wide range of foliar traits and environmental conditions) to elucidate how phyllosphere microbiota mediates ecosystem responses to global change. Phyllosphere microbiota of beech and Scots pine at European continental scale is influenced by the host species and associated foliar traits, as well as by temperature and nitrogen deposition, according to 16S rRNA gene sequencing analyses on leaf epiphytic microbes.

Communications Earth & EnvironmentVol. 5(1)
Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ES), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ES), Research Institute for Nature and Forest (BE), Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (CH), Natural Resources Institute Finland (FI), Centre d'Estudis Avançats de Blanes (ES), IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute (SE), Office National des Forêts (FR), Centre for Research on Ecology and Forestry Applications (ES), Forest Research (GB), Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, Universidad de Navarra (ES), University of Bologna (IT)
European Regional Development Fund, Agencia Estatal de Investigación
Openalex Percentile: Top 6%
Forest Insect Ecology and Management
4.13
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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