Soil Origin and Plant Genotype Structure Distinct Microbiome Compartments in the Model Legume Medicago Truncatula Shawn P
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Brown et al. Microbiome (2020) 8:139 https://doi.org/10.1186/s40168-020-00915-9 RESEARCH Open Access Soil origin and plant genotype structure distinct microbiome compartments in the model legume Medicago truncatula Shawn P. Brown1,3,4†, Michael A. Grillo1,5†, Justin C. Podowski1,6 and Katy D. Heath1,2* Abstract Background: Understanding the genetic and environmental factors that structure plant microbiomes is necessary for leveraging these interactions to address critical needs in agriculture, conservation, and sustainability. Legumes, which form root nodule symbioses with nitrogen-fixing rhizobia, have served as model plants for understanding the genetics and evolution of beneficial plant-microbe interactions for decades, and thus have added value as models of plant-microbiome interactions. Here we use a common garden experiment with 16S rRNA gene amplicon and shotgun metagenomic sequencing to study the drivers of microbiome diversity and composition in three genotypes of the model legume Medicago truncatula grown in two native soil communities. Results: Bacterial diversity decreased between external (rhizosphere) and internal plant compartments (root endosphere, nodule endosphere, and leaf endosphere). Community composition was shaped by strong compartment × soil origin and compartment × plant genotype interactions, driven by significant soil origin effects in the rhizosphere and significant plant genotype effects in the root endosphere. Nevertheless, all compartments were dominated by Ensifer, the genus of rhizobia that forms root nodule symbiosis with M. truncatula, and additional shotgun metagenomic sequencing suggests that the nodulating Ensifer were not genetically distinguishable from those elsewhere in the plant. We also identify a handful of OTUs that are common in nodule tissues, which are likely colonized from the root endosphere. Conclusions: Our results demonstrate strong host filtering effects, with rhizospheres driven by soil origin and internal plant compartments driven by host genetics, and identify several key nodule-inhabiting taxa that coexist with rhizobia in the native range. Our results set the stage for future functional genetic experiments aimed at expanding our pairwise understanding of legume-rhizobium symbiosis toward a more mechanistic understanding of plant microbiomes. Keywords: Common garden, Evolution, Genetic variation, Mutualism, Nodule microbiome * Correspondence: [email protected] †Shawn P. Brown and Michael A. Grillo contributed equally to this work. 1Department of Plant Biology, University of Illinois, 505 S. Goodwin Ave, Urbana, IL 61801, USA 2Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois, 1206 W. Gregory Dr, Urbana, IL 61801, USA Full list of author information is available at the end of the article © The Author(s). 2020, corrected publication May 2021. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the data. Brown et al. Microbiome (2020) 8:139 Page 2 of 17 Background genetic variation is maintained for plant immune re- Plants grow in close co-association with a striking diver- sponse machinery [40], and numerous other ecologically sity of microorganisms [1]. These microbes, including bac- relevant phenotypes; thus, it is perhaps not surprising teria, archaea, fungi, and protists, can inhabit every that host genotypes vary in microbiome composition conceivable plant organ and tissue as either epiphytes or [24, 28, 29, 33]. Yet many microbiome studies have fo- endophytes. A rapidly growing body of literature has doc- cused on only a single genotype; therefore, studies using umented the influence that the microbiome can have on multiple genotypes and wild species are necessary to bet- critical plant traits including disease resistance [2–5], nu- ter resolve the role of host plant genotypes in structuring trient acquisition and growth [6–9], abiotic stress toler- the microbiome, particularly since domesticated species ance [10, 11], and flowering phenology [12, 13]. Thus, the may be inferior in their ability to regulate microbiomes microbiome can be viewed as an extended phenotype of when compared to wild relatives [41–43]. the plant genome that can enhance the ability of plants to Leveraging existing knowledge in well-studied models cope with environmental stressors [1, 10, 14–16]. A fuller for plant-microbe interactions can help us better under- understanding of plant microbiomes is critical for im- stand the factors structuring plant microbiomes. Legumin- provements in environmental sustainability [17], agricul- ous plants (Fabaceae) are one of the most diverse lineages ture [18], and conservation [19]. To leverage microbiomes (ca. 20,000 spp.), and legumes are the second most im- to address critical needs, we must better understand the portant crop family behind grasses [44]. For decades, le- factors that structure microbial communities within and gumes have served as important model systems for among plant hosts, building a predictive understanding of understanding the genetics, ecology, and evolution of microbiome assembly. plant-microbe interactions because they form intimate The advent of modern sequencing technology has pro- symbioses both with nodulating nitrogen-fixing bacteria vided a renaissance for microbial ecology by allowing for (rhizobia) and with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). rigorous characterization of microbial communities and Decades of molecular genetic work have uncovered nu- their relationships with macrobial hosts [20]. Some au- merous genes that are required for symbiosis with these thors have even suggested that the hologenome, com- key symbionts [45–47], and a subset of these so-called prised of the host’s genome and all genomic content of “symbiosis genes” have been implicated in interactions be- associated microbes, is a unit of biological organization tween legumes and a diversity of microorganisms beyond driving ecological and evolutionary processes [21, 22]. rhizobia and AMF [48–50]. Zgadzaj et al. [51], for ex- Microbiomes are diverse and have been found to vary ample, detected a shift in microbiome community com- across plant species [23–25], within species among dif- position in mutant Lotus japonicus that were defective in ferent genotypes [26–30], and among plants grown in nodulation, compared to wild type plants. This line of different environments [29, 31–33]. Additionally, distinct inquiry suggests that core symbiosis genetic pathways can compartments within a plant (e.g., phyllosphere, rhizo- influence interactions with a broad range of microbes be- sphere, endosphere) often vary in microbiome compos- yond the model symbiosis in which they were discovered, ition [1, 29, 33]. Thus, environmental and genetic factors and thus that models for plant-microbe symbiosis have working together largely determine plant microbiome added value in understanding plant microbiomes. assembly. Microbial communities can be strongly structured by Soil communities can vary considerably in space and plant compartments, and this is potentially the case for time, leading to variation in the microbial pool available legume nodules. Nodules represent a truly distinct envir- for colonization [34, 35]. For roots, a two-step model for onment from the adjacent root endosphere by being (1) microbiome colonization has been proposed [1, 33], low in oxygen, which is necessary for nitrogen fixation wherein root exudates initially drive a shift in commu- [52, 53], (2) rich in both carbon and nitrogen [54], and nity composition in the soil directly influenced by the (3) dominated by single microbial taxon (i.e., rhizobia). root (i.e., the rhizosphere), followed by plant genetic fac- Thus the nodule may harbor microbes that are special- tors that regulate entry inside the root (i.e., the root ists of this unique environment; however, this hypothesis endosphere). The acquisition of the leaf microbiome has not been tested. Limited evidence in AMF supports (i.e., phyllosphere) is less well-understood, but likely de- this notion by demonstrating that communities differ pends on similar multi-level processes [36, 37]. In order between the root and the nodule, but are more similar to gain entry into the endosphere (interior of the leaves, between nodules of different legume species, suggesting roots, stem, etc.), microbes must overcome plant innate that there may indeed be nodule AMF specialists [55]. immunity [38]. The field of community genetics has long Furthermore, the origin of nodule microbial communi- held that intraspecific genetic variation, and thus intra-