Abstract
Plant-associated microbial communities can promote plant nutrient uptake, growth, and resistance to pathogens. Host resistance to infection can increase directly through commensal-pathogen interactions or indirectly through priming of host defenses, and the specific mechanisms are currently best described for rhizosphere bacteria. For example, Arabidopsis plants infected with the foliar pathogen, Pseudomonas syringae pathovar tomato (Pst), increase their root secretion of malate, which attracts Bacillus subtillis to the roots and leads to a stronger host immune response against Pst. While there are numerous examples of individual defensive symbionts, it is less clear whether this type of protection can be an emergent property of whole microbial communities. In particular, relatively little is known about if and how the presence of phyllosphere (above ground) microbial communities can increase host resistance against pathogens. In this study, we examined the ability of augmented tomato phyllosphere microbiomes to confer resistance against the causal agent of bacterial speck, Pst. Across 5 independent experiments, the phyllosphere microbiome was found to decrease pathogen colonization. Furthermore, the dose of commensal bacteria applied affected the degree of protection conferred, and although the effect is dependent on microbial composition, it is not clearly related to overall diversity. Finally, our results suggest that microbial resource community dynamics play an important role in protection, as the addition of fertilizer abolished the observed microbiome-mediated protection. Together, these results have clear relevance to microbiome-mediated protection within agricultural settings, and the use of plant probiotics to increase disease resistance.
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Claims 8
Claim · model-written summary
Augmented tomato phyllosphere microbiomes decreased colonization by the bacterial speck pathogen Pst across 5 independent experiments.
- Taxon
- tomato
Solanum lycopersicume1 - Treatment
- augmented tomato phyllosphere microbiomese1
- Interactor
- Pste2pathogen
- Outcome
- pathogen colonizatione0
- Direction
- decreasee0
- Qualifier
- Across 5 independent experimentse0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Across 5 independent experiments, the phyllosphere microbiome was found to decrease pathogen colonization”
e1“augmented tomato phyllosphere microbiomes”
e2“the causal agent of bacterial speck, Pst”
Claim · model-written summary
The dose of commensal bacteria applied affected the degree of protection against Pst.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicume1
- Treatment
- dose of commensal bacteriae3
- Interactor
- Pste2pathogen
- Outcome
- degree of protectione3
Not reportedComparatorDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“augmented tomato phyllosphere microbiomes”
e2“the causal agent of bacterial speck, Pst”
e3“the dose of commensal bacteria applied affected the degree of protection conferred”
Claim · model-written summary
The protective effect of the phyllosphere microbiome depends on microbial composition.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicume1
- Treatment
- microbial compositione3
- Interactor
- Pste2pathogen
- Outcome
- protectione3
Not reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“augmented tomato phyllosphere microbiomes”
e2“the causal agent of bacterial speck, Pst”
e3“protection conferred, and although the effect is dependent on microbial composition”
Claim · model-written summary
The protective effect is not clearly related to overall microbial diversity.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicume1
- Treatment
- overall diversitye3
- Interactor
- Pste2pathogen
- Outcome
- protectione3
Not reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“augmented tomato phyllosphere microbiomes”
e2“the causal agent of bacterial speck, Pst”
e3“protection conferred, and although the effect is dependent on microbial composition, it is not clearly related to overall diversity”
Claim · model-written summary
Addition of fertilizer abolished the observed microbiome-mediated protection.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicume1
- Treatment
- addition of fertilizere3
- Interactor
- Pste2pathogen
- Outcome
- microbiome-mediated protectione3
- Direction
- abolishede3
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“augmented tomato phyllosphere microbiomes”
e2“the causal agent of bacterial speck, Pst”
e3“the addition of fertilizer abolished the observed microbiome-mediated protection”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors suggest microbial resource community dynamics play an important role in protection.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicume1
- Interactor
- Pste2pathogen
- Outcome
- protectione3
- Qualifier
- microbial resource community dynamicse3
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“augmented tomato phyllosphere microbiomes”
e2“the causal agent of bacterial speck, Pst”
e3“microbial resource community dynamics play an important role in protection”
Claim · model-written summary
Arabidopsis plants infected with the foliar pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato increase root secretion of malate.
- Taxon
- Arabidopsis
Arabidopsise4 - Treatment
- infected with the foliar pathogen, Pseudomonas syringae pathovar tomato (Pst)e4
- Interactor
- Pseudomonas syringae pathovar tomato
Pseudomonas syringaee4pathogen - Outcome
- root secretion of malatee4
- Direction
- increasee4
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e4“Arabidopsis plants infected with the foliar pathogen, Pseudomonas syringae pathovar tomato (Pst), increase their root secretion of malate”
Claim · model-written summary
Malate secreted by infected Arabidopsis attracts Bacillus subtilis to the roots and leads to a stronger host immune response against Pst.
- Taxon
- ArabidopsisArabidopsise4
- Interactor
- Pste5pathogen
- Second interactor
- Bacillus subtillise5biocontrol_agent
- Compound
- malatee4
- Outcome
- stronger host immune responsee5
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e4“Arabidopsis plants infected with the foliar pathogen, Pseudomonas syringae pathovar tomato (Pst), increase their root secretion of malate”
e5“which attracts Bacillus subtillis to the roots and leads to a stronger host immune response against Pst”
The same questions in other papers
fertilization · soil: biology · Solanum lycopersicum (tomato)Positive and negative results
4 papers in the same direction as this paper · 34 in the opposite direction
- positive
- positive
- positive
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