Early phyllosphere microbial associations impact plant reproductive success

Mehlferber, Elijah C.; McCue, Kent F.; Debray, Reena; Kaulbach, Griffin; Ferrel, Jon; Khanna, Rajnish; Koskella, Britt

doi:10.1101/2022.06.30.498294

Cited by 5 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 48 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…For example, Azomite is lightly weathered, contains short-range-order minerals with aluminosilicates, and its application in the top layer of soil may temporarily create andisol-like conditions. In previous studies with greenhouse-grown tomatoes, Azomite increased tomato production (Mehlferber et al, 2022a; 2022b), and here it was found to promote early seedling growth. These data suggest that the application of volcanic ash fertilizers, like Azomite may increase soil productivity similarly to Andislos.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 74%

Photosynthetically active radiation is required for seedling growth promotion by volcanic dacitic tuff breccia (Azomite)

McCue

Mehlferber

Reed

et al. 2022

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A plant's growth and development are shaped by its genome and the capacity to negotiate its environment for access to light, water, and nutrients. There is a vital need to understand the interactions between the plant, its physical environment, and the fertilizers used in agriculture. In this study, a commercially available volcanic ash fertilizer, Azomite®, characterized as dacitic (rhyolitic) tuff breccia (DTB), was tested for its effect on promoting early seedling vigor. Early growth and photomorphogenesis processes are well studied in Arabidopsis. Seedling assays under different light conditions were used to dissect the underlying mechanisms involved. These assays are well established and can be translated to agriculturally important crop plants. The volcanic ash fertilizer was tested at different concentrations on seedlings grown on basic media lacking sucrose either in continuous darkness (Dc), continuous Red (Rc), Far-Red (FRc), or White Light (WLc). Micronutrients in the volcanic ash significantly increased seedling growth under Rc and WLc, but not under Dc and FRc, indicating that photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) was required for the observed growth increase. Furthermore, red-light photoreceptor mutant, phyB-9 lacked the growth response, and higher amount of fertilizer reduced growth in all conditions tested. These data suggest that light triggers the ability of the seedling to utilize micronutrients in volcanic ash in a dose-dependent manner. The methods described here can be used to establish mechanisms of activity of various nutrient inputs, and coupled with whole-genome expression profiling, can lead to better insights into optimizing nutrient field applications to improve crop production.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 74%

Photosynthetically active radiation is required for seedling growth promotion by volcanic dacitic tuff breccia (Azomite)

McCue

Mehlferber

Reed

et al. 2022

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…At the higher concentration (1 g/L) tested, Azomite reduced cotyledon expansion and hypocotyl growth in etiolated, FRc and PAR-grown seedlings (Figures 6), implying an optimal range (>.1 to <1.0 g/L) of beneficial Azomite activity on Arabidopsis seedlings during deetiolation. Recent experiments performed with greenhouse grown tomatoes have revealed similar relationships between plant growth and Azomite concentrations (Mehlferber et al, 2023). Higher concentrations may result in an increase in growth inhibition, potentially due to currently unknown impacts of excessive nutrient elements like K, as described above (Xu et al, 2020).…”

Section: Possible Mechanisms Of Azomite Activitymentioning

confidence: 85%

“…Figure 1 shows 4-day-old seedlings grown in continuous darkness (Dc), continuous red light (Rc), or continuous white light (WLc). The initial light treatments were selected to assess any observable phenotypic differences in response to Azomite concentrations, which were chosen based on relative amounts used in previous greenhouse tomato trials (Mehlferber et al, 2023).…”

Section: Plant Materials and Growth Conditionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Photosynthetically active radiation is required for seedling growth promotion by volcanic dacitic tuff breccia (Azomite)

McCue,

Mehlferber,

Reed

et al. 2023

Plant Direct

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A plant's growth and development are shaped by its genome and the capacity to negotiate its environment for access to light, water, and nutrients. There is a vital need to understand the interactions between the plant, its physical environment, and the fertilizers used in agriculture. In this study, a commercially available volcanic ash fertilizer, Azomite®, characterized as dacitic (rhyolitic) tuff breccia, was tested for its effect on promoting early seedling vigor. Early growth and photomorphogenesis processes are well studied in Arabidopsis. Seedling assays under different light conditions were used to dissect the underlying mechanisms involved. These assays are well established and can be translated to agriculturally important crop plants. The volcanic ash fertilizer was tested at different concentrations on seedlings grown on basic media lacking sucrose either in continuous darkness (Dc), continuous Red (Rc), Far‐Red (FRc), or White Light (WLc). Micronutrients in the volcanic ash significantly increased seedling growth under Rc and WLc, but not under Dc and FRc, indicating that photosynthetically active radiation was required for the observed growth increase. Furthermore, red‐light photoreceptor mutant, phyB‐9, lacked the growth response, and higher amount of fertilizer reduced growth in all conditions tested. These data suggest that light triggers the ability of the seedling to utilize micronutrients in volcanic ash in a dose‐dependent manner. The methods described here can be used to establish mechanisms of activity of various nutrient inputs and, coupled with whole‐genome expression profiling, can lead to better insights into optimizing nutrient field applications to improve crop production.

show abstract

“…Microbiomes have strong effects on the health and fitness of their hosts (1,2). Host plant growth and physiology are affected by the presence of leaf-associated (phyllosphere) microbes, with microbial taxa acting as mutualists, commensals, and antagonistic pathogens (3)(4)(5)(6). Phyllosphere microbes live in complex microecosystems (7,8) performing functions that drive plant nutrient acquisition, phytohormone production, and stress tolerance (3).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microbial community function increases host plant leaf growth in a pitcher plant experimental system

Bernardin,

Young,

Gray

et al. 2024

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Across diverse ecosystems, bacteria and their host organisms engage in complex relationships having negative, neutral, or positive effects. However, the specific effects of leaf-associated bacterial community functions on plant growth are poorly understood. This study investigated mechanistic relationships between bacterial community function and host plant growth in a carnivorous plant that relies on microbes to break down insect prey via extracellular hydrolytic enzymes. Sterile, freshly opened leaves (pitchers) of purple pitcher plants (Sarracenia purpurea) were inoculated with three functionally distinct bacterial communities to test the effects of bacterial function on plant growth and leaf nutrient content. Bacterial community composition and function were measured using physiological assays, metagenomics, and metatranscriptomics. Distinct bacterial functions affected plant traits, with a bacterial community enriched in decomposition and secondary metabolite production traits leading to leaves with almost double the biomass of control pitchers. Functional differences in bacterial communities, measured by physiological assays, were supported by metatranscriptomic analysis; for example, the bacterial community with the highest chitinase activity had greater relative abundance of transcripts associated with chitinase enzymes. The bacterial community associated with larger pitchers also had increased differential expression of transcripts linked to microbially-produced plant hormones. The direct relationship between bacterial community function and plant growth observed, indicates specific mechanisms for host-associated bacterial functions to support plant health and growth.

show abstract

Early phyllosphere microbial associations impact plant reproductive success

Cited by 5 publications

References 48 publications

Photosynthetically active radiation is required for seedling growth promotion by volcanic dacitic tuff breccia (Azomite)

Photosynthetically active radiation is required for seedling growth promotion by volcanic dacitic tuff breccia (Azomite)

Photosynthetically active radiation is required for seedling growth promotion by volcanic dacitic tuff breccia (Azomite)

Microbial community function increases host plant leaf growth in a pitcher plant experimental system

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About