Leaf bacterial microbiota response to flooding is controlled by plant phenology in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Leaf microbiota mediates foliar functional traits, influences plant fitness, and contributes to various ecosystem functions, including nutrient and water cycling. Plant phenology and harsh environmental conditions have been described as the main determinants of leaf microbiota assembly. How climate change may modulate the leaf microbiota is unresolved and thus, we have a limited understanding on how environmental stresses associated with climate change driven weather events affect composition and functions of the microbes inhabiting the phyllosphere. Thus, we conducted a pot experiment to determine the effects of flooding stress on the wheat leaf microbiota. Since plant phenology might be an important factor in the response to hydrological stress, flooding was induced at different plant growth stages (tillering, booting and flowering). Using a metabarcoding approach, we monitored the response of leaf bacteria to flooding, while key soil and plant traits were measured to correlate physiological plant and edaphic factor changes with shifts in the bacterial leaf microbiota assembly. In our study, plant growth stage represented the main driver in leaf microbiota composition, as early and late plants showed distinct bacterial communities. Overall, flooding had a differential effect on leaf microbiota dynamics depending at which developmental stage it was induced, as a more pronounced disruption in community assembly was observed in younger plants.