Tree Leaf Bacterial Community Structure and Diversity Differ along a Gradient of Urban Intensity

ABSTRACT Tree leaf-associated microbiota have been studied in natural ecosystems but less so in urban settings, where anthropogenic pressures on trees could impact microbial communities and modify their interaction with their hosts. Additionally, trees act as vectors spreading bacterial cells in the...

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Autores principales:	Isabelle Laforest-Lapointe, Christian Messier, Steven W. Kembel
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	American Society for Microbiology 2017
Materias:	biodiversity bioindicators microbial communities microbial ecology phyllosphere-inhabiting microbes plant-microbe interactions Microbiology QR1-502
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/c1975a256c2046258a38ad6d020900ef
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:c1975a256c2046258a38ad6d020900ef2021-12-02T18:39:33ZTree Leaf Bacterial Community Structure and Diversity Differ along a Gradient of Urban Intensity10.1128/mSystems.00087-172379-5077https://doaj.org/article/c1975a256c2046258a38ad6d020900ef2017-12-01T00:00:00Zhttps://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/mSystems.00087-17https://doaj.org/toc/2379-5077ABSTRACT Tree leaf-associated microbiota have been studied in natural ecosystems but less so in urban settings, where anthropogenic pressures on trees could impact microbial communities and modify their interaction with their hosts. Additionally, trees act as vectors spreading bacterial cells in the air in urban environments due to the density of microbial cells on aerial plant surfaces. Characterizing tree leaf bacterial communities along an urban gradient is thus key to understand the impact of anthropogenic pressures on urban tree-bacterium interactions and on the overall urban microbiome. In this study, we aimed (i) to characterize phyllosphere bacterial communities of seven tree species in urban environments and (ii) to describe the changes in tree phyllosphere bacterial community structure and diversity along a gradient of increasing urban intensity and at two degrees of tree isolation. Our results indicate that, as anthropogenic pressures increase, urban leaf bacterial communities show a reduction in the abundance of the dominant class in the natural plant microbiome, the Alphaproteobacteria. Our work in the urban environment here reveals that the structures of leaf bacterial communities differ along the gradient of urban intensity. The diversity of phyllosphere microbial communities increases at higher urban intensity, also displaying a greater number and variety of associated indicator taxa than the low and medium urban gradient sites. In conclusion, we find that urban environments influence tree bacterial community composition, and our results suggest that feedback between human activity and plant microbiomes could shape urban microbiomes. IMPORTANCE In natural forests, tree leaf surfaces host diverse bacterial communities whose structure and composition are primarily driven by host species identity. Tree leaf bacterial diversity has also been shown to influence tree community productivity, a key function of terrestrial ecosystems. However, most urban microbiome studies have focused on the built environment, improving our understanding of indoor microbial communities but leaving much to be understood, especially in the nonbuilt microbiome. Here, we provide the first multiple-species comparison of tree phyllosphere bacterial structures and diversity along a gradient of urban intensity. We demonstrate that urban trees possess characteristic bacterial communities that differ from those seen with trees in nonurban environments, with microbial community structure on trees influenced by host species identity but also by the gradient of urban intensity and by the degree of isolation from other trees. Our results suggest that feedback between human activity and plant microbiomes could shape urban microbiomes.Isabelle Laforest-LapointeChristian MessierSteven W. KembelAmerican Society for Microbiologyarticlebiodiversitybioindicatorsmicrobial communitiesmicrobial ecologyphyllosphere-inhabiting microbesplant-microbe interactionsMicrobiologyQR1-502ENmSystems, Vol 2, Iss 6 (2017)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	biodiversity bioindicators microbial communities microbial ecology phyllosphere-inhabiting microbes plant-microbe interactions Microbiology QR1-502
spellingShingle	biodiversity bioindicators microbial communities microbial ecology phyllosphere-inhabiting microbes plant-microbe interactions Microbiology QR1-502 Isabelle Laforest-Lapointe Christian Messier Steven W. Kembel Tree Leaf Bacterial Community Structure and Diversity Differ along a Gradient of Urban Intensity
description	ABSTRACT Tree leaf-associated microbiota have been studied in natural ecosystems but less so in urban settings, where anthropogenic pressures on trees could impact microbial communities and modify their interaction with their hosts. Additionally, trees act as vectors spreading bacterial cells in the air in urban environments due to the density of microbial cells on aerial plant surfaces. Characterizing tree leaf bacterial communities along an urban gradient is thus key to understand the impact of anthropogenic pressures on urban tree-bacterium interactions and on the overall urban microbiome. In this study, we aimed (i) to characterize phyllosphere bacterial communities of seven tree species in urban environments and (ii) to describe the changes in tree phyllosphere bacterial community structure and diversity along a gradient of increasing urban intensity and at two degrees of tree isolation. Our results indicate that, as anthropogenic pressures increase, urban leaf bacterial communities show a reduction in the abundance of the dominant class in the natural plant microbiome, the Alphaproteobacteria. Our work in the urban environment here reveals that the structures of leaf bacterial communities differ along the gradient of urban intensity. The diversity of phyllosphere microbial communities increases at higher urban intensity, also displaying a greater number and variety of associated indicator taxa than the low and medium urban gradient sites. In conclusion, we find that urban environments influence tree bacterial community composition, and our results suggest that feedback between human activity and plant microbiomes could shape urban microbiomes. IMPORTANCE In natural forests, tree leaf surfaces host diverse bacterial communities whose structure and composition are primarily driven by host species identity. Tree leaf bacterial diversity has also been shown to influence tree community productivity, a key function of terrestrial ecosystems. However, most urban microbiome studies have focused on the built environment, improving our understanding of indoor microbial communities but leaving much to be understood, especially in the nonbuilt microbiome. Here, we provide the first multiple-species comparison of tree phyllosphere bacterial structures and diversity along a gradient of urban intensity. We demonstrate that urban trees possess characteristic bacterial communities that differ from those seen with trees in nonurban environments, with microbial community structure on trees influenced by host species identity but also by the gradient of urban intensity and by the degree of isolation from other trees. Our results suggest that feedback between human activity and plant microbiomes could shape urban microbiomes.
format	article
author	Isabelle Laforest-Lapointe Christian Messier Steven W. Kembel
author_facet	Isabelle Laforest-Lapointe Christian Messier Steven W. Kembel
author_sort	Isabelle Laforest-Lapointe
title	Tree Leaf Bacterial Community Structure and Diversity Differ along a Gradient of Urban Intensity
title_short	Tree Leaf Bacterial Community Structure and Diversity Differ along a Gradient of Urban Intensity
title_full	Tree Leaf Bacterial Community Structure and Diversity Differ along a Gradient of Urban Intensity
title_fullStr	Tree Leaf Bacterial Community Structure and Diversity Differ along a Gradient of Urban Intensity
title_full_unstemmed	Tree Leaf Bacterial Community Structure and Diversity Differ along a Gradient of Urban Intensity
title_sort	tree leaf bacterial community structure and diversity differ along a gradient of urban intensity
publisher	American Society for Microbiology
publishDate	2017
url	https://doaj.org/article/c1975a256c2046258a38ad6d020900ef
work_keys_str_mv	AT isabellelaforestlapointe treeleafbacterialcommunitystructureanddiversitydifferalongagradientofurbanintensity AT christianmessier treeleafbacterialcommunitystructureanddiversitydifferalongagradientofurbanintensity AT stevenwkembel treeleafbacterialcommunitystructureanddiversitydifferalongagradientofurbanintensity
_version_	1718377765034524672

Tree Leaf Bacterial Community Structure and Diversity Differ along a Gradient of Urban Intensity

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