P-392 - Unravelling microbial shifts: how plant age and life history shape the Microbiome

Recent studies show that microbial communities associated with different plant compartments (unplanted soil, rhizosphere, roots, and leaves) are taxonomically distinct. Prokaryotic communities are primarily shaped by plant compartment, yet, how these communities vary across plant life history (annual vs. perennial) or developmental stage remain poorly understood. This study investigates the dynamics of microbial communities (bacteria, oomycetes, and cercozoans) associated with annual and perennial plants across developmental stages. We hypothesize that differences in life history and developmental stage will influence microbial structure and function. Our study includes the following annual:perennial species pairs: Pair 1) Arabidopsis thaliana and A. lyrata and Pair 2) Arabis montbretiana and A. alpina. We employed an RNA-based analysis to capture active microbial communities at three to four developmental stages per species. After RNA extraction, cDNA synthesis, and amplification of regions of the 16S rRNA, 18S rRNA, and coxII, libraries were generated and sequenced using Illumina MiSeq. Our initial analyses support previous findings showing strong differentiation by host species and indicate that microbial communities are shaped by compartment and to a lesser degree, by life stage. This research will provide critical insights into plant-microbe interactions, advancing fundamental knowledge and informing microbiome-based strategies for sustainable agriculture.