Publication Details

Category Text Publication
Reference Category Journals
DOI 10.1002/ece3.7434
Licence creative commons licence
Title (Primary) Tree diversity and functional leaf traits drive herbivore‐associated microbiomes in subtropical China
Author Li, Y.; Chesters, D.; Wang, M.-Q.; Wubet, T. ORCID logo ; Schuldt, A.; Anttonen, P.; Guo, P-F.; Chen, J.-T.; Zhou, Q.-S.; Zhang, N.-L.; Ma, K.-P.; Bruelheide, H.; Wu, C.-S.; Zhu, C.-D.
Source Titel Ecology and Evolution
Year 2021
Department BZF
Volume 11
Issue 11
Page From 6153
Page To 6166
Language englisch
Topic T5 Future Landscapes
Supplements https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/action/downloadSupplement?doi=10.1002%2Fece3.7434&file=ece37434-sup-0001-Supinfo.docx
Keywords 16S rRNA; Bacteria; BEF‐China; herbivore‐associated microbiome; leaf characteristics; Lepidoptera; Microbial ecology
Abstract Herbivorous insects acquire microorganisms from host plants or soil, but it remains unclear how the diversity and functional composition of host plants contribute to structuring herbivore microbiomes. Within a controlled tree diversity setting, we used DNA metabarcoding of 16S rRNA to assess the contribution of Lepidoptera species and their local environment (particularly, tree diversity, host tree species, and leaf traits) to the composition of associated bacterial communities. In total, we obtained 7,909 bacterial OTUs from 634 caterpillar individuals comprising 146 species. Tree diversity was found to drive the diversity of caterpillar‐associated bacteria both directly and indirectly via effects on caterpillar communities, and tree diversity was a stronger predictor of bacterial diversity than diversity of caterpillars. Leaf toughness and dry matter content were important traits of the host plant determining bacterial species composition, while leaf calcium and potassium concentration influenced bacterial richness. Our study reveals previously unknown linkages between trees and their characteristics, herbivore insects, and their associated microbes, which contributes to developing a more nuanced understanding of functional dependencies between herbivores and their environment, and has implications for the consequences of plant diversity loss for trophic interactions.
Persistent UFZ Identifier https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=24477
Li, Y., Chesters, D., Wang, M.-Q., Wubet, T., Schuldt, A., Anttonen, P., Guo, P-F., Chen, J.-T., Zhou, Q.-S., Zhang, N.-L., Ma, K.-P., Bruelheide, H., Wu, C.-S., Zhu, C.-D. (2021):
Tree diversity and functional leaf traits drive herbivore‐associated microbiomes in subtropical China
Ecol. Evol. 11 (11), 6153 - 6166 10.1002/ece3.7434