Microbial survival strategies in desiccated roots of Myrothamnus flabellifolia
IntroductionRoot-associated microbiomes are critical to plant vigor, particularly under drought stress. The spatial dynamics of microbial community diversity and composition are strongly influenced by plant root and environmental factors. While the desiccation tolerance of the resurrection plant Myr...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-03-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Microbiology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2025.1560114/full |
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| author | Shandry M. Tebele Rose A. Marks Rose A. Marks Jill M. Farrant |
| author_facet | Shandry M. Tebele Rose A. Marks Rose A. Marks Jill M. Farrant |
| author_sort | Shandry M. Tebele |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | IntroductionRoot-associated microbiomes are critical to plant vigor, particularly under drought stress. The spatial dynamics of microbial community diversity and composition are strongly influenced by plant root and environmental factors. While the desiccation tolerance of the resurrection plant Myrothamnus flabellifolia using leaf tissue has been previously investigated, the transcriptional responses of its root-associated microbiomes under desiccation remain completely unexplored.MethodsHere, we conducted metatranscriptome sequencing on root samples of M. flabellifolia collected in the field across four states: dry, desiccated, partially hydrated, and fully hydrated.ResultsBacterial transcripts dominated the root metatranscriptome across all conditions. Desiccated roots exhibited a significant increase in transcripts from Actinomycetota, whereas fully hydrated roots showed an enrichment of Pseudomonadota. Under desiccation, root-associated bacteria upregulated genes involved in antioxidant systems, trehalose biosynthesis, and hormonal regulation.DiscussionThese findings highlight microbial adaptive mechanisms to withstand extreme water loss. In contrast, the bacterial transcriptional response in hydrated roots was characterized by genes linked to peptidoglycan biosynthesis, sugar transporters, and chemotaxis. Taken together, our findings indicate that root-associated bacteria deploy defense mechanisms analogous to those of their host plant to adapt to extreme drought stress, highlighting their crucial role in plant resilience. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-7c4f83de778d42149ef3f52dbc3b931d |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1664-302X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Microbiology |
| spelling | doaj-art-7c4f83de778d42149ef3f52dbc3b931d2025-08-20T03:44:28ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Microbiology1664-302X2025-03-011610.3389/fmicb.2025.15601141560114Microbial survival strategies in desiccated roots of Myrothamnus flabellifoliaShandry M. Tebele0Rose A. Marks1Rose A. Marks2Jill M. Farrant3Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South AfricaDepartment of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South AfricaDepartment of Plant Biology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, United StatesDepartment of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South AfricaIntroductionRoot-associated microbiomes are critical to plant vigor, particularly under drought stress. The spatial dynamics of microbial community diversity and composition are strongly influenced by plant root and environmental factors. While the desiccation tolerance of the resurrection plant Myrothamnus flabellifolia using leaf tissue has been previously investigated, the transcriptional responses of its root-associated microbiomes under desiccation remain completely unexplored.MethodsHere, we conducted metatranscriptome sequencing on root samples of M. flabellifolia collected in the field across four states: dry, desiccated, partially hydrated, and fully hydrated.ResultsBacterial transcripts dominated the root metatranscriptome across all conditions. Desiccated roots exhibited a significant increase in transcripts from Actinomycetota, whereas fully hydrated roots showed an enrichment of Pseudomonadota. Under desiccation, root-associated bacteria upregulated genes involved in antioxidant systems, trehalose biosynthesis, and hormonal regulation.DiscussionThese findings highlight microbial adaptive mechanisms to withstand extreme water loss. In contrast, the bacterial transcriptional response in hydrated roots was characterized by genes linked to peptidoglycan biosynthesis, sugar transporters, and chemotaxis. Taken together, our findings indicate that root-associated bacteria deploy defense mechanisms analogous to those of their host plant to adapt to extreme drought stress, highlighting their crucial role in plant resilience.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2025.1560114/fulldesiccationmetatranscriptomicsmicrobiomesMyrothamnus flabellifoliaplant growth-promoting bacteriaresurrection plants |
| spellingShingle | Shandry M. Tebele Rose A. Marks Rose A. Marks Jill M. Farrant Microbial survival strategies in desiccated roots of Myrothamnus flabellifolia Frontiers in Microbiology desiccation metatranscriptomics microbiomes Myrothamnus flabellifolia plant growth-promoting bacteria resurrection plants |
| title | Microbial survival strategies in desiccated roots of Myrothamnus flabellifolia |
| title_full | Microbial survival strategies in desiccated roots of Myrothamnus flabellifolia |
| title_fullStr | Microbial survival strategies in desiccated roots of Myrothamnus flabellifolia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Microbial survival strategies in desiccated roots of Myrothamnus flabellifolia |
| title_short | Microbial survival strategies in desiccated roots of Myrothamnus flabellifolia |
| title_sort | microbial survival strategies in desiccated roots of myrothamnus flabellifolia |
| topic | desiccation metatranscriptomics microbiomes Myrothamnus flabellifolia plant growth-promoting bacteria resurrection plants |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2025.1560114/full |
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