One Core to Root them All: A Core Bacterial Community in Closely Related but Geographically Distant Mammillaria Species from Contrasting Environments.
9 affiliations
- 1Jardín Botánico, Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito Zona Deportiva S/N, Ciudad Universitaria, Coyoacán, Mexico City, 04510, Mexico. [email protected].
- 2Posgrado en Ciencias Biológicas, Unidad de Posgrado, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito de Posgrados S/N, Ciudad Universitaria, Coyoacán, Mexico City, 04510, Mexico. [email protected].
- 3Unidad de Síntesis en Sistemática y Evolución, Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito Zona Deportiva S/N, Ciudad Universitaria, Coyoacán, Mexico City, 04510, Mexico.
- 4Instituto de Biología, Pabellón Nacional de la Biodiversidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito Cultural S/N, Ciudad Universitaria, Coyoacán, Mexico City, 04510, Mexico.
- 5División de Biología Molecular, SECIHTI - Institute for Scientific and Technological Research of San Luis Potosí (IPICYT) MX, 78216, San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí, Mexico.
- 6Departamento de Botánica, Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito Zona Deportiva S/N, Ciudad Universitaria, Coyoacán, Mexico City, 04510, Mexico.
- 7Instituto de Geología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito Interior S/N, Ciudad Universitaria, Coyoacán, Mexico City, 04510, Mexico.
- 8Laboratorio Nacional de Geoquímica y Mineralogía, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito Interior S/N, Ciudad Universitaria, Coyoacán, Mexico City, 04510, Mexico.
- 9Jardín Botánico, Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito Zona Deportiva S/N, Ciudad Universitaria, Coyoacán, Mexico City, 04510, Mexico. [email protected].
Abstract
Understanding the core microbiome has potential applications on biomonitoring and conservation. We explore whether closely related xerophytes from the Mammillaria haageana species complex (MHSC), a recently diverged group (ca. 2 mya) that occupy geographically distant and contrasting environments, share a bacterial core microbiome (BCM) that could help them to thrive through an aridity gradient. We sampled the rhizosheath and the surrounding bulk soil, performed 16S rRNA (v3-v4 region) metabarcoding, and analyzed soil properties, bacterial diversity and functional predictions, to compare between soil compartments and describe the BCM associated to the MHSC rhizosheath. We observed that bacterial communities differed among bulk soils but MHSC species display a trend to select for the same bacteria. Despite environmental differences, we found that all four species shared a BCM composed of 17 bacterial taxa, assigned to genera Dactylosporangium, Microvirga, and Rubrobacter; as well as 14 predicted functional processes. This BCM could enhance rhizosheath nutrient acquisition and stress responses, thus helping the plant-bacteria holobiont to thrive in arid environments and help us understand the rapid evolution and diversification of the MHSC across an aridity gradient.
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BibTeX
@article{colchadolopez2026core,
title = {{One Core to Root them All: A Core Bacterial Community in Closely Related but Geographically Distant Mammillaria Species from Contrasting Environments.}},
author = {Joel Colchado-López and Cristian R Cervantes and Andrea Jiménez-Marín and Nguyen Esmeralda López-Lozano and Roberto Garibay-Orijel and Bruno M Chávez-Vergara and Ulises Rosas},
journal = {Microbial ecology},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.1007/s00248-026-02854-8},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42972054},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - One Core to Root them All: A Core Bacterial Community in Closely Related but Geographically Distant Mammillaria Species from Contrasting Environments.
AU - Joel Colchado-López
AU - Cristian R Cervantes
AU - Andrea Jiménez-Marín
AU - Nguyen Esmeralda López-Lozano
AU - Roberto Garibay-Orijel
AU - Bruno M Chávez-Vergara
AU - Ulises Rosas
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/06
JO - Microbial ecology
DO - 10.1007/s00248-026-02854-8
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42972054
AB - Understanding the core microbiome has potential applications on biomonitoring and conservation. We explore whether closely related xerophytes from the Mammillaria haageana species complex (MHSC), a recently diverged group (ca. 2 mya) that occupy geographically distant and contrasting environments, share a bacterial core microbiome (BCM) that could help them to thrive through an aridity gradient. We sampled the rhizosheath and the surrounding bulk soil, performed 16S rRNA (v3-v4 region) metabarcoding, and analyzed soil properties, bacterial diversity and functional predictions, to compare between soil compartments and describe the BCM associated to the MHSC rhizosheath. We observed that bacterial communities differed among bulk soils but MHSC species display a trend to select for the same bacteria. Despite environmental differences, we found that all four species shared a BCM composed of 17 bacterial taxa, assigned to genera Dactylosporangium, Microvirga, and Rubrobacter; as well as 14 predicted functional processes. This BCM could enhance rhizosheath nutrient acquisition and stress responses, thus helping the plant-bacteria holobiont to thrive in arid environments and help us understand the rapid evolution and diversification of the MHSC across an aridity gradient.
SN - 0095-3628
SN - 1432-184X
ER -