Plant species, metabolites, and environmental factors shape the phyllosphere microbiota of grazed grasslands.
Dalmasso M, Morvan-Bertrand A, Goux D, Elie N, Sesboüé A
Soil Health
Invisible microbes living on grass and plant leaves influence how ecosystems respond to fertilizers and grazing — knowledge that could help farmers manage pastures more sustainably and help gardeners understand why healthy soil and diverse plantings support healthier leaves.
Every blade of grass is covered in tiny microbes — bacteria and fungi — that form their own unique community depending on what plant they're living on and what chemicals that plant produces. Scientists studied three types of grassland plants and found that each plant's own biology, along with whether the field was fertilized, determined which microbes thrived on the leaves. This means the leaf surface is not random — it's shaped by the plant itself and how we manage the land around it.
Key Findings
Plant species identity was a primary driver of phyllosphere microbial community composition, with each of the three grassland species hosting a distinctly structured microbiome.
Nitrogen fertilization of one of the two adjacent grasslands measurably altered the leaf microbial communities, linking land management practices to phyllosphere microbiota.
Plant metabolites — particularly fructans accumulated in the two grass species studied — were associated with shaping which microbes colonized the leaf surface.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Different grassland plant species host distinct communities of microbes on their leaves, and these microbial communities are shaped by the plant's own chemistry, environmental conditions, and whether the field receives nitrogen fertilizer.
Abstract Preview
The phyllosphere of permanent grasslands is a reservoir of microbial diversity, yet its composition and the factors influencing its fluctuations are still poorly understood. The aim of this study w...
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