What Is There in Seeds? Vertically Transmitted Endophytic Resources for Sustainable Improvement in Plant Growth

Shahzad, Raheem; Khan, Abdul Latif; Bilal, Saqib; Asaf, Sajjad; Lee, In‐Jung

doi:10.3389/fpls.2018.00024

Cited by 250 publications

(141 citation statements)

References 112 publications

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“…The idea of vertical transmission, the direct transfer of a microorganism from a parent to its progeny, is a universal phenomenon in animals [20]. Since seeds are considered the plant progeny, the majority of studies on vertical transmission in plants have focused on the composition and assembly of the seed's microbial community, rather than the dynamics of establishment and transmission during seedling development, despite the latter being a crucial step in maintaining the continuity of the plant microbiome and a potential bottleneck in vertical transmission [13,[21][22][23][24][25] (Fig. 1a).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental Evidence of Microbial Inheritance in Plants and Transmission Routes from Seed to Phyllosphere and Root

Abdelfattah

Wisniewski

Schena

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Background While the environment is considered the primary origin for establishing the microbiome of newly developing plants, the potential role of seeds as a source of transmitting microorganisms has not received much attention. Here we tested the hypothesis that the plant microbiome is at least partially inherited through vertical transmission. We investigated where microbes reside within a seed, and how microbes are subsequently transmitted from the seed to seedling’s belowground and aboveground plant tissues. To this aim, an experimental culturing device was constructed to grow oak seedlings in a microbe-free environment while keeping the belowground and aboveground tissues separated.Results Amplicon sequencing of fungal ITS2 and bacterial 16S rDNA revealed that the seed microbiome is diverse and non-randomly distributed within an acorn. The large majority (> 95%) of fungi and bacteria present in the acorn were transmitted to the seedling. The microbial composition of the phyllosphere strongly resembled the composition found in the embryo, whereas the roots and pericarp each had a distinct microbial community. Similar relationships were observed for both fungi and bacteria.Conclusion Our findings demonstrate a high level of microbial diversity and spatial partitioning of the fungal and bacterial community within both seed and seedling, indicating inheritance, niche differentiation, and divergent transmission routes for the establishment of root and phyllosphere communities in oak seedlings. The study provides new information on the importance of the maternal environment as a source of the seedling microbiome, with significant implications for our understanding of the continuity of the plant microbiome across generations.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental Evidence of Microbial Inheritance in Plants and Transmission Routes from Seed to Phyllosphere and Root

Abdelfattah

Wisniewski

Schena

et al. 2020

Preprint

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“…As such, there is continued research interest in developing drugs from endophytic compounds which could serve as an alternative to synthetic pharmaceuticals and/or plant-derived medicines. Endophytes are known to promote plant growth, enhance defence, increase abiotic and biotic stress tolerance, and improve nutrient acquisition [12]. Endophytes may actively modulate the host's biosynthesis pathways and gene expression systems to increase the production of significant secondary metabolites.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Properties of a Bacterial Endophyte, Methylobacterium radiotolerans MAMP 4754, Isolated from Combretum erythrophyllum Seeds

Photolo

Mavumengwana

Sitole

et al. 2020

International Journal of Microbiology

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is study reports on the isolation and identification of Methylobacterium radiotolerans MAMP 4754 from the seeds of the medicinal plant, Combretum erythrophyllum, for the purposes of investigating antimicrobial and antioxidant activities from this endophyte. e strain identity was confirmed by 16S rRNA-based phylogeny and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Ethyl acetate and chloroform (1 : 1 v/v) extracts from the endophyte were tested for antimicrobial and antioxidant activity on a total of 7 bacterial species (3 Gram-positive and 4 Gram-negative) using the standard Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) protocol and Quantitative Radical Scavenging activity using the 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay, respectively. e MICs were recorded at 250 μg/mL for B. subtilis ATCC 19659, B. cereus ATCC 1076, E. coli ATCC1053, and 62.5 μg/mL for K. oxytoca ATCC 13182 and M. smegmatis ATCC 21293, while an IC 50 of 5.65 μg/mL was recorded with the DPPH assay. Qualitative phytochemical analysis was positive for alkaloids, flavonoids, and steroids. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis revealed the presence of 9-octadecene, 2,4-dinitrophenyl acetate, and 2(5H)-furanone, which have been previously reported for the targeted activities. M. radiotolerans MAMP 4754 tested positive for antimicrobial and antioxidant activity and this is linked to the production of plant-derived secondary metabolites by this strain. with only 3% of these being antimicrobial [4]. e pharmaceutical properties of medicinal plants have been linked to the production of a wide variety of structurally diverse phytochemicals which include alkaloids, flavonoids, terpenes, steroids, curcumins, saponins, and phenolics, all of which can potentially serve as drug lead candidates for the development of antimicrobials and resistance modifiers [5,6].According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature and the World Wildlife, there are an estimated 80 000 recognized medicinal flowering plant species globally,

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“…The plant seeds are the starting point for the next generation, and also evolved along with diverse microorganisms [3,11]. Seed endophytes were reported to beneficial the plants starting from seed preservation and germination [12][13][14][15] to seedling growth and stress tolerance [16,17].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Given the importance of priority effects in plant microbiomes, a comprehensive study of seed bacterial and fungal community and managing microbial assembly in seeds and seedlings should be a research priority [1]. However, the study of the seed's microbiota was largely based on culture-dependent investigations in the past [11,19] and lagged behind the studies of microbiome in leaf and root [20][21][22]. Seeds from ecologically and geographically diverse were reported to harbor characteristic microbiota [23][24][25].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seed-resident microbiomes of leguminous and gramineous grasses are related to host stress tolerance

Dai¹,

Li²,

Wang³

et al. 2019

Preprint

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Background: The grasses in adverse environment such as Qinghai-Tibet Plateau are hypothesized to survive the harsh climate in part upon their seed-borne microorganisms, and yet the characteristics of the grass seed microbial communities remain undetermined. Here, we assessed the seed microbial communities of three native gramineous grass species (Avena sativa, Elymus sibiricus and Elymus dahuricus) and four candidate legumes (Vicia villosa, Trifolium repens, Trifolium pretense and Medicago sativa) on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau by high-throughput sequencing. Results: A total of 1,013 bacterial operational taxonomic units (OTUs) and 922 fungal OTUs were observed. The OTUs that shared in all the samples were in high abundance but with different relative abundances. The majority of bacterial sequences were assigned to Proteobacteria (54~90%) and Firmicutes (5~41%), and the fungal communities were mainly composed of Ascomycota (23~96%) and Basidiomycota (2~11%). The fungal communities were more affected by host genetic distance than bacteria. The three gramineous grasses were speculated to survive the adversity partly due to their high abundance of beneficial bacteria like Pantoea or Bacillus, and non-pathogenic fungi like Candida or unclassified Helotiaceae. Also enriched with these potential beneficial taxa, the four leguminous grasses may be competent to adapt the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau stress. Furthermore, the higher tolerance grasses (Elymus sibiricus and Elymus dahuricus) possessed a greater number of growth-promoting and tolerance bacterial and non-pathogenic fungi. Conversely, the less tolerance grass Medicago sativa contained lower levels of such microorganisms, and showed higher abundance of pathogenic taxa. Furthermore, the isolated Bacillus subtilis or Pantoea agglomerans could more probably promote seeding growth of hosts with lower abundance of them, while inhibit if the endo-abundance of was high. Conclusions: Seed-resident microbiome structure of the four cold-tolerance legumes and three Qinghai-Tibet Plateau gramineae is host dependent and related to stress resistance. It also has a strong influence on the response of seedlings to biological seed treatments. This study provides valuable data for studying plant resilience, identifying more biocontrol strains, maximizing microbial functions in ‘smart farming’ practices.

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What Is There in Seeds? Vertically Transmitted Endophytic Resources for Sustainable Improvement in Plant Growth

Cited by 250 publications

References 112 publications

Experimental Evidence of Microbial Inheritance in Plants and Transmission Routes from Seed to Phyllosphere and Root

Experimental Evidence of Microbial Inheritance in Plants and Transmission Routes from Seed to Phyllosphere and Root

Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Properties of a Bacterial Endophyte, Methylobacterium radiotolerans MAMP 4754, Isolated from Combretum erythrophyllum Seeds

Seed-resident microbiomes of leguminous and gramineous grasses are related to host stress tolerance

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