Root microbiota dynamics of perennial Arabis alpina are dependent on soil residence time but independent of flowering time
Abstract
Recent field and laboratory experiments with perennial Boechera stricta and annual Arabidopsis thaliana suggest that the root microbiota influences flowering time. Here we examined in long-term time-course experiments the bacterial root microbiota of the arctic-alpine perennial Arabis alpina in natural and controlled environments by 16S rRNA gene profiling. We identified soil type and residence time of plants in soil as major determinants explaining up to 15% of root microbiota variation, whereas environmental conditions and host genotype explain maximally 11% of variation. When grown in the same soil, the root microbiota composition of perennial A. alpina is largely similar to those of its annual relatives A. thaliana and Cardamine hirsuta. Non-flowering wild-type A. alpina and flowering pep1 mutant plants assemble an essentially indistinguishable root microbiota, thereby uncoupling flowering time from plant residence time-dependent microbiota changes. This reveals the robustness of the root microbiota against the onset and perpetual flowering of A. alpina. Together with previous studies, this implies a model in which parts of the root microbiota modulate flowering time, whereas, after microbiota acquisition during vegetative growth, the established root-associated bacterial assemblage is structurally robust to perturbations caused by flowering and drastic changes in plant stature.
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BibTeX
@article{dombrowski2026root,
title = {{Root microbiota dynamics of perennial Arabis alpina are dependent on soil residence time but independent of flowering time}},
author = {Nina Dombrowski and Klaus Schlaeppi and Matthew T Agler and Stéphane Hacquard and Eric Kemen and Ruben Garrido-Oter and Jörg Wunder and George Coupland and Paul Schulze-Lefert},
journal = {The International Society of Microbiologial Ecology Journal},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1038/ismej.2016.109},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05805877v1},
note = {CC BY-NC 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Root microbiota dynamics of perennial Arabis alpina are dependent on soil residence time but independent of flowering time
AU - Nina Dombrowski
AU - Klaus Schlaeppi
AU - Matthew T Agler
AU - Stéphane Hacquard
AU - Eric Kemen
AU - Ruben Garrido-Oter
AU - Jörg Wunder
AU - George Coupland
AU - Paul Schulze-Lefert
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/19
JO - The International Society of Microbiologial Ecology Journal
DO - 10.1038/ismej.2016.109
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05805877v1
AB - Recent field and laboratory experiments with perennial Boechera stricta and annual Arabidopsis thaliana suggest that the root microbiota influences flowering time. Here we examined in long-term time-course experiments the bacterial root microbiota of the arctic-alpine perennial Arabis alpina in natural and controlled environments by 16S rRNA gene profiling. We identified soil type and residence time of plants in soil as major determinants explaining up to 15% of root microbiota variation, whereas environmental conditions and host genotype explain maximally 11% of variation. When grown in the same soil, the root microbiota composition of perennial A. alpina is largely similar to those of its annual relatives A. thaliana and Cardamine hirsuta. Non-flowering wild-type A. alpina and flowering pep1 mutant plants assemble an essentially indistinguishable root microbiota, thereby uncoupling flowering time from plant residence time-dependent microbiota changes. This reveals the robustness of the root microbiota against the onset and perpetual flowering of A. alpina. Together with previous studies, this implies a model in which parts of the root microbiota modulate flowering time, whereas, after microbiota acquisition during vegetative growth, the established root-associated bacterial assemblage is structurally robust to perturbations caused by flowering and drastic changes in plant stature.
SN - 1751-7362
SN - 1751-7370
ER -