Background

Previous studies have demonstrated that plant-associated microbial diversity can confer fitness advantages to the plant host and influence ecosystem functions. The extent to which plant-associated microbial diversity modulates the response of plant fitness to environmental changes through its role in defining trait expression in the host plant remains, however, largely unknown.

Methods

In this study, we aimed to address this gap by sampling plant traits and endophytic microbial communities at seven experimental sites simulating nitrogen deposition, a significant environmental change factor.

Key results

We found a robust correlation between leaf and root traits, and the correlation remains unaffected by nitrogen addition, indicating a coordinated response of plants across both aboveground and belowground organs in the face of environmental changes. Furthermore, our evidence suggests that the adaptation of plant trait expression to nitrogen deposition is specifically modulated by the diversity of plant endophytic fungi and bacteria, rather than endophytic microbial community structure.

Conclusions

Our results highlight the crucial role of endophytic microbe diversity in modulating plant host adaptation to environmental changes. These findings emphasize the importance of understanding the interactions between plants and their endophytic microbiome to better predict the impacts of environmental changes on ecosystem functions.

中文翻译：

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氮添加通过改变内生微生物多样性影响树木性状表达

 背景

以前的研究表明，植物相关的微生物多样性可以赋予植物宿主适应性优势并影响生态系统功能。然而，植物相关的微生物多样性在多大程度上通过其在定义寄主植物性状表达中的作用来调节植物适应性对环境变化的响应，在很大程度上仍然未知。

 方法

在这项研究中，我们旨在通过在七个实验点对植物性状和内生微生物群落进行采样来填补这一差距，模拟氮沉积，这是一个重要的环境变化因素。

 主要结果

我们发现叶和根性状之间存在很强的相关性，并且这种相关性不受氮添加的影响，表明植物在面对环境变化时在地上和地下器官之间做出协调反应。此外，我们的证据表明，植物性状表达对氮沉积的适应受植物内生真菌和细菌的多样性的特异性调节，而不是内生微生物群落结构的调节。

 结论

我们的结果强调了内生微生物多样性在调节植物宿主对环境变化的适应中的关键作用。这些发现强调了了解植物与其内生微生物组之间的相互作用的重要性，以更好地预测环境变化对生态系统功能的影响。