Wild bittersweet nightshade keeps the same root microbes across wildly different habitats
Aleklett K, Karlsson Green K, Andersen CB, Ramirez N, Kadish D
Soil Health
Native plants in your neighborhood may be carrying their own stable communities of beneficial microbes, meaning simply preserving local wild species could matter more for soil health than importing commercial inoculants.
Researchers studied a weedy vine called bittersweet nightshade growing in eight different spots, from beaches to cities, and found that despite very different soils and conditions, the microbes living on its roots stayed surprisingly similar. More than 60% of the bacterial species and 73% of the fungal species showed up consistently across all habitats. Interestingly, how well the plants grew didn't seem to be closely tied to which microbes they had, hinting that plant health in the wild is shaped by many factors beyond just the root microbiome.
Key Findings
61% of bacterial taxa and 73% of fungal taxa formed a stable core microbiome shared across all four habitat types (beach, forest, rural, urban)
Microbiome composition was significantly influenced by soil pH and plant nutrient levels, but not strongly by habitat type alone
Plant performance (growth, herbivory damage) showed weak association with microbial community composition, challenging the assumption that microbiome drives plant fitness in wild populations
chevron_right Technical Summary
A wild vine related to potato maintains a remarkably stable community of root microbes across beaches, forests, rural fields, and cities. Despite big differences in soil and environment, most of its root microbiome stayed consistent, suggesting plants can carry their microbial partners with them regardless of where they grow.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Consistent root microbiomes across contrasting habitats in a wild perennial vine.
While we are beginning to understand that the plant microbiome is important for plant health, we still lack information about how plant microbiomes are shaped across environments and how they influ...
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Solanum dulcamara is a species of vine in the genus Solanum of the family Solanaceae. Common names include bittersweet, bittersweet nightshade, bitter nightshade, blue bindweed, Amara Dulcis, climbing nightshade, felonwort, fellenwort, felonwood, poisonberry, poisonflower, scarlet berry, snakeber...