Skip to main content
ARS Home » Plains Area » Fargo, North Dakota » Edward T. Schafer Agricultural Research Center » Sunflower and Plant Biology Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #371105
Research Project: Genetic Enhancement of Sunflower Yield and Tolerance to Biotic Stress

Location: Sunflower and Plant Biology Research

Title: Heritable differences in abundance of bacterial rhizosphere taxa are correlated with fungal necrotrophic pathogen resistance

Author
item POGODA, CLOE - University Of Colorado
item REINERT, STEPHAN - University Of Colorado
item TALUKDER, ZAHIRUL - North Dakota State University
item CORWIN, JASON - University Of Colorado
item MONEY, KENNEDY - North Dakota State University
item COLLIER-ZANS, ERIN - University Of Colorado
item Underwood, William
item GULYA, THOMAS - Retired ARS Employee
item QUANDT, C. ALISHA - University Of Colorado
item KANE, NOLAN - University Of Colorado
item Hulke, Brent
item KEEPERS, KYLE - University Of Colorado
item SMART, BRIAN - North Dakota State University

Submitted to: Molecular Ecology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/13/2023
Publication Date: 12/1/2023
Citation: Pogoda, C.S., Reinert, S., Talukder, Z.I., Corwin, J., Money, K.L., Collier-Zans, E.C., Underwood, W., Gulya, T.J., Quandt, C., Kane, N., Hulke, B.S., Keepers, K.G., Smart, B. 2023. Heritable differences in abundance of bacterial rhizosphere taxa are correlated with fungal necrotrophic pathogen resistance. Molecular Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.17218.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.17218

Interpretive Summary: Plants develop symbiotic relationships with other organisms in nature, but scientists are now beginning to focus on how these interactions are affecting crop plants in agricultural settings. Bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms live in the space between the roots and soil, which is called the rhizosphere. In this study, we investigated the microorganisms that live in the sunflower rhizosphere and discovered a negative association between certain bacteria and rate of root infection by a serious sunflower pathogen, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. We report that this association is a key feature in the plant’s defense against Sclerotinia disease, which is useful in understanding resistance to the disease and for developing efficient methods to increase sunflower’s resistance to Sclerotinia.

Technical Abstract: Host-microbe interactions are increasingly recognized as important drivers of organismal health, growth, longevity, and community-scale ecological processes. However, less is known about how genetic variation affects hosts’ associated microbiomes and downstream phenotypes. We demonstrate that sunflower (Helianthus annuus) harbors substantial, heritable variation in microbial communities under field conditions. We show that microbial communities co-vary with heritable variation in resistance to root infection caused by the necrotrophic pathogen Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, and that plants grown in autoclaved soil showed almost complete elimination of pathogen resistance. Association mapping suggests at least 59 genetic locations with effects on both microbial relative abundance and Sclerotinia resistance. Although the genetic architecture appears quantitative, we have elucidated previously unexplained genetic variation for resistance to this pathogen. We identify new targets for plant breeding and demonstrate the potential for heritable microbial associations to play important roles in defense in natural and human-altered environments.