The rhizosphere microbiota of plant invaders: an overview of recent advances in the microbiomics of invasive plants

Abstract

Plants in terrestrial systems have evolved in direct association with microbes functioning as both agonists and antagonists of plant fitness and adaptability. As such, investigations that segregate plants and microbes provide only a limited scope of the biotic interactions that dictate plant community structure and composition in natural systems. Invasive plants provide an excellent working model to compare and contrast the effects of microbial communities associated with natural plant populations on plant fitness, adaptation, and fecundity. The last decade of DNA sequencing technology advancements opened the door to microbial community analysis, which has led to an increased awareness of the importance of an organism’s microbiome and the disease states associated with microbiome shifts. Employing microbiome analysis to study the symbiotic networks associated with invasive plants will help us to understand what microorganisms contribute to plant fitness in natural systems, how different soil microbial communities impact plant fitness and adaptability, specificity of host–microbe interactions in natural plant populations, and the selective pressures that dictate the structure of above-ground and below-ground biotic communities. This review discusses recent advances in invasive plant biology that have resulted from microbiome analyses as well as the microbial factors that direct plant fitness and adaptability in natural systems.

Ecophysiological Plasticity and Bacteriome Shift in the Seagrass Halophila stipulacea along a Depth Gradient in the Northern Red Sea

“…Plant–microbe interactions may be also important to invasive plants and may aid colonization and expansion in new territories. Particularly, the rhizosphere-associated communities are known to persist attached to the roots-rhizomes in new environments (Coats and Rumpho, 2014; Cúcio et al, 2016). Our findings suggest an important role for morphology, biochemistry (pigment and phenol content) and epiphytic bacterial communities in increasing plant tolerance for environmental and ecological variations and thus improving their ecological resilience and invasiveness capacity.…”

“…Microbial communities, due to their capability to rapidly shift in structure and function as a response to environmental change, may influence the health of their hosts (Zilber-Rosenberg and Rosenberg, 2008) by several means such as providing protection against pathogens (Rosenberg et al, 2007; Taylor et al, 2007), nitrogen fixation (Singh et al, 2004), and securing nutrient availability (Rout et al, 2013; Coats and Rumpho, 2014). In the same way, host condition (Marzinelli et al, 2015), rather than just environmental variables (Campbell et al, 2015a,b), may determine the structure of the closely associated microbial communities.…”

Herbaceous invaders in temperate forests: a systematic review of their ecology and proposed mechanisms of invasion

“…M. vimineum, A. petiolata, and C. solstitialis were used heavily to test the Disturbance and Competition hypotheses; while M. vimineum, A. petiolata, and M. micrantha were primarily used to test the Soil Feedback hypothesis, which includes alterations of soil microbial communities and nutrient cycling (e.g. Reinhart and Callaway 2006;Coats and Rumpho 2014). A. petiolata, and M. micrantha were the main candidates to test the Allelopathy hypothesis (e.g.…”

Role and influence of soil microbial communities on plant invasion

“…Plant-soil microbial interactions of invasive plants differ from their native and non-native ranges Li et al, 2013). For instance, the soil microbial communities of B. thunbergii in its native regions differ from its invaded regions (Coats, 2014). Plants selectively influence the rhizosphere microbiota and establish feedback interactions between them (Kardol et al, 2007).…”

“…Mutualistic microbes modify plant communities by either facilitating or inhibiting plant invasions depending Rout and Chrzanowski (2009) upon the symbiotic interactions in native and non-native habitats (Hawkes et al, 2005;Richandson et al, 2000;Coats & Rumpho, 2014). The majority of the plants form the symbiotic association with AM fungi (Allen, 1991;Smith & Read, 2008), nitrogen fixing bacteria (Richardson et al, 2000;Ehrenfled, 2003) and with the wide range of other endophytes (Shipunov et al, 2008;Newcombe et al, 2009).…”