Summary

• Plants impact the development of their rhizosphere microbial communities. It is yet unclear to what extent the root cap and specific root zones contribute to microbial community assembly.
• To test the roles of root caps and root hairs in the establishment of microbiomes along maize roots (Zea mays), we compared the composition of prokaryote (archaea and bacteria) and protist (Cercozoa and Endomyxa) microbiomes of intact or decapped primary roots of maize inbred line B73 with its isogenic root hairless (rth3) mutant. In addition, we tracked gene expression along the root axis to identify molecular control points for an active microbiome assembly by roots.
• Absence of root caps had stronger effects on microbiome composition than the absence of root hairs and affected microbial community composition also at older root zones and at higher trophic levels (protists). Specific bacterial and cercozoan taxa correlated with root genes involved in immune response.
• Our results indicate a central role of root caps in microbiome assembly with ripple-on effects affecting higher trophic levels and microbiome composition on older root zones.