Balancing deterministic and stochastic assembly during needle aging shapes phyllosphere microbial community complexity and stability
Abstract
Phyllosphere microorganisms on leaf surfaces play key roles in maintaining plant productivity and health. The composition of phyllosphere microbial communities may vary during leaf aging, leading to changes in the complexity and stability of these communities. However, the ecological mechanisms underlying these varistions, particularly the relative contributions of deterministic (i.e., environmental filtering) and stochastic assembly processes (i.e., random dispersal and ecological drift) in shaping community dynamics, remain unclear. In this study, we collected 252 needle samples corresponding to three age cohorts from three representative evergreen coniferous species in natural mixed broadleaved-Korean pine forests throughout Northeast China. Needle traits were determined, and both phyllosphere epiphytic bacterial and fungal communities were assessed using amplicon sequencing. Our results showed that stochastic assembly dominated microbial communities, and the longer immigration periods contributed to increased microbial diversity and network complexity across needle age cohorts. Deterministic assembly became stronger for both bacterial and fungal communities during needle aging, which was closely related to the increased concentrations of secondary metabolites such as flavonoids, resulting in gradually elevated community similarity. Microbial network stability decreased in older needles, primarily due to the lower modularity and fewer negative interactions among species. Our study provides comprehensive empirical evidence on the succession of phyllosphere bacterial and fungal communities across needle age cohorts, emphasizing the importance of a dynamic balance between deterministic assembly and stochastic assembly in shaping microbial communities during needle aging.
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BibTeX
@article{li2026balancing,
title = {{Balancing deterministic and stochastic assembly during needle aging shapes phyllosphere microbial community complexity and stability}},
author = {Bing Li and Mingyang Fu and Guangze Jin and Fuqiang Song and Zhili Liu and Nicolas Fanin},
journal = {Environmental Microbiome},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.1186/s40793-026-00922-7},
url = {https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-05742195v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Balancing deterministic and stochastic assembly during needle aging shapes phyllosphere microbial community complexity and stability
AU - Bing Li
AU - Mingyang Fu
AU - Guangze Jin
AU - Fuqiang Song
AU - Zhili Liu
AU - Nicolas Fanin
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/01
JO - Environmental Microbiome
DO - 10.1186/s40793-026-00922-7
UR - https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-05742195v1
AB - Phyllosphere microorganisms on leaf surfaces play key roles in maintaining plant productivity and health. The composition of phyllosphere microbial communities may vary during leaf aging, leading to changes in the complexity and stability of these communities. However, the ecological mechanisms underlying these varistions, particularly the relative contributions of deterministic (i.e., environmental filtering) and stochastic assembly processes (i.e., random dispersal and ecological drift) in shaping community dynamics, remain unclear. In this study, we collected 252 needle samples corresponding to three age cohorts from three representative evergreen coniferous species in natural mixed broadleaved-Korean pine forests throughout Northeast China. Needle traits were determined, and both phyllosphere epiphytic bacterial and fungal communities were assessed using amplicon sequencing. Our results showed that stochastic assembly dominated microbial communities, and the longer immigration periods contributed to increased microbial diversity and network complexity across needle age cohorts. Deterministic assembly became stronger for both bacterial and fungal communities during needle aging, which was closely related to the increased concentrations of secondary metabolites such as flavonoids, resulting in gradually elevated community similarity. Microbial network stability decreased in older needles, primarily due to the lower modularity and fewer negative interactions among species. Our study provides comprehensive empirical evidence on the succession of phyllosphere bacterial and fungal communities across needle age cohorts, emphasizing the importance of a dynamic balance between deterministic assembly and stochastic assembly in shaping microbial communities during needle aging.
SN - 2524-6372
SN - 2524-6372
ER -