Abstract
In the U.S., Potentilla recta is an invasive, exotic forb. Previous research suggests that the soil microbes of native congeners (relatives within the same genus as P. recta) may inhibit P. recta, presumably because phylogenetically similar species may culture and be susceptible to similar pathogens. Our study aimed to answer three questions: (1) how do the fungal communities within the roots of P. recta compare to the fungal communities within the roots of neighboring congeners Potentilla gracilis and Drymocallis glandulosa (hereinafter referred to as the congeners) and native forbs, (2) what are the effects of the whole microbial community (microflora, microfauna, and some mesofauna mm), and the small microbial community (microflora, µm) on P. recta, (3) is there evidence that conspecific soil microbes mediate the distribution of P. recta in the field? To address question one, we used high-throughput sequencing to compare the fungal communities within the roots of P. recta, its native congeners and neighboring forbs. To address our second question, we conducted a greenhouse experiment testing the effects of microbe fraction [none, small (< 20 µm), whole (< 2 mm)] and microbe source plant (congeners, forb, grass, and P. recta) on P. recta’s biomass. To address our third question, we observed and analyzed the distribution of P. recta in relation to its congeners in an intermountain grassland in Western Montana. The fungal communities within the roots of P. recta and its congeners were different from other neighboring forbs, but pathogen abundance did not correspond to P. recta biomass. Further, the fungal communities within the roots of P. recta were unchanged by neighboring plant identity. In the greenhouse, we found reduced P. recta biomass from the whole microbial community collected from all source plants, but biomass did not differ significantly by source plant. Additionally, the magnitude of this negative effect was correlated with percent of colonization by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. We found neutral effects from the small microbe fraction, and no significant differences among source plant. In the field P. recta and other common grassland forbs were distributed at equal distances from the native congeners. We found no association between P. recta and the congeners co-occurring at the landscape scale. Overall, our results contradict previous findings and suggest that the direct and indirect effects of soil microbes on P. recta are nonspecific.
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Claims 10
Claim · model-written summary
Root fungal communities in P. recta and its congeners differed from those in neighboring forbs.
- Taxon
- P. recta
Potentilla rectae0 - Outcome
- fungal communities within the rootse0
- Comparator
- other neighboring forbse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The fungal communities within the roots of P. recta and its congeners were different from other neighboring forbs”
Claim · model-written summary
Pathogen abundance did not correspond to P. recta biomass.
- Taxon
- P. rectaPotentilla rectae0
- Interactor
- pathogene0pathogen
- Outcome
- P. recta biomasse0
- Direction
- did not corresponde0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“pathogen abundance did not correspond to P. recta biomass”
Claim · model-written summary
Neighboring plant identity did not change P. recta root fungal communities.
- Taxon
- P. rectaPotentilla rectae0
- Outcome
- fungal communities within the rootse0
- Direction
- unchangede0
- Comparator
- neighboring plant identitye0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the fungal communities within the roots of P. recta were unchanged by neighboring plant identity”
Claim · model-written summary
Whole microbial communities from every source plant reduced P. recta biomass.
- Taxon
- P. rectaPotentilla rectae0
- Treatment
- whole microbial communitye0
- Outcome
- P. recta biomasse0
- Direction
- reducede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“we found reduced P. recta biomass from the whole microbial community collected from all source plants”
Claim · model-written summary
P. recta biomass under whole microbial communities did not differ significantly by source plant.
Not reportedTaxon
Verbatim
e0“biomass did not differ significantly by source plant”
Claim · model-written summary
The negative biomass effect correlated with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal colonization percentage.
- Interactor
- arbuscular mycorrhizal fungie0symbiont
- Outcome
- magnitude of this negative effecte0
- Qualifier
- percent of colonizatione0
Not reportedTaxonDirection
Verbatim
e0“the magnitude of this negative effect was correlated with percent of colonization by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi”
Claim · model-written summary
The small microbe fraction had neutral effects on P. recta.
Not reportedTaxonComparatorDirection
Verbatim
e0“We found neutral effects from the small microbe fraction”
Claim · model-written summary
The small microbe fraction showed no significant differences among source plants.
Not reportedTaxon
Verbatim
e0“no significant differences among source plant”
Claim · model-written summary
In the field P. recta and common grassland forbs were equally distant from native congeners.
- Taxon
- P. rectaPotentilla rectae0
- Outcome
- distances from the native congenerse0
- Direction
- equal distancese0
- Comparator
- other common grassland forbse0
- Setting
- fielde0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“In the field P. recta and other common grassland forbs were distributed at equal distances from the native congeners”
Claim · model-written summary
P. recta and congeners had no landscape-scale co-occurrence association.
- Taxon
- P. rectaPotentilla rectae0
- Outcome
- co-occurring at the landscape scalee0
- Direction
- no associatione0
- Comparator
- the congenerse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“We found no association between P. recta and the congeners co-occurring at the landscape scale”