Evaluating the hologenome concept by analyzing the root-endosphere microbiota of chimeric plants.
Marine Biget, Tingting Wang, Cendrine Mony, Qicheng Xu, Lucie Lecoq, Véronique Chable, Kevin R Theis, Ning Ling, Philippe Vandenkoornhuyse
Author Information
Marine Biget: Université de Rennes 1, CNRS, UMR 6553 ECOBIO (écosystèmes, biodiversité, évolution), 35000 Rennes, France.
Tingting Wang: Université de Rennes 1, CNRS, UMR 6553 ECOBIO (écosystèmes, biodiversité, évolution), 35000 Rennes, France.
Cendrine Mony: Université de Rennes 1, CNRS, UMR 6553 ECOBIO (écosystèmes, biodiversité, évolution), 35000 Rennes, France.
Qicheng Xu: Jiangsu Provincial Key Lab for Organic Solid Waste Utilization, National Engineering Research Center for Organic-based Fertilizers, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Solid Organic Waste Resource Utilization, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China.
Lucie Lecoq: Université de Rennes 1, CNRS, UMR 6553 ECOBIO (écosystèmes, biodiversité, évolution), 35000 Rennes, France.
Véronique Chable: UMR BAGAP INRAE, Centre Bretagne-Normandie, Domaine de la Motte, BP35327, 35653 Le Rheu Cedex, France.
Kevin R Theis: Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA.
Ning Ling: Jiangsu Provincial Key Lab for Organic Solid Waste Utilization, National Engineering Research Center for Organic-based Fertilizers, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Solid Organic Waste Resource Utilization, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China.
Philippe Vandenkoornhuyse: Université de Rennes 1, CNRS, UMR 6553 ECOBIO (écosystèmes, biodiversité, évolution), 35000 Rennes, France.
The hologenome concept considers the entity formed by a host and its microbiota, the holobiont, as new level of hierarchical organization subject to neutral and selective forces. We used grafted plants to formally evaluate the hologenome concept. We analyzed the root-endosphere microbiota of two independent watermelon and grapevine plant systems, including ungrafted and reciprocal-grafting combinations. Grafted and ungrafted hosts harbor markedly different microbiota compositions. Furthermore, the results indicate a non-random assembly of bacterial communities inhabiting the root endosphere of chimeric plants with interactive effect of both the rootstock and scion on the recruitment of microorganisms. Because chimeric plants did not have a random microbiota, the null hypothesis that holobionts assemble randomly and hologenome concept is an intellectual construction only can be rejected. The study supports the relevance of hologenome as biological level of organization and opens new avenues for a better fundamental understanding of plants as holobionts.
