Male and female trees of the same species host different communities of microbes living inside their bark and leaves. The pattern held across four unrelated species, so a plant's sex is a reliable factor shaping its internal microbiome.
1
Sex significantly influenced bacterial and fungal community assembly in all four species: Eucommia ulmoides, Taxus wallichiana var. mairei, Ginkgo biloba, and Morus alba.
2
Bacterial diversity (Shannon index) was higher in males than females for E. ulmoides, T. wallichiana var. mairei, and M. alba; Spirochaetota bacteria appeared only in males of E. ulmoides, G. biloba, and M. alba.
3
Fungal genera Albophoma and Striaticonidium were found only in females across all four species, while dominant groups (Actinobacteriota, Proteobacteria, Ascomycota, Basidiomycota) were shared by both sexes.
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