Microbial Drivers of Plant Performance during Drought Depend upon Community Composition and the Greater Soil Environment
Eric R. Moore, Kelsey Carter, John P. Heneghan, Christina Steadman, Abigael Nachtsheim, Christine M. Anderson‐Cook, L. Turin Dickman, Brent D. Newman, John Dunbar, Sanna Sevanto, Michaeline Albright
Abstract
Globally, drought is an increasingly common and severe stress that causes significant damage to agricultural and wild plants, thereby threatening food security. Despite growing evidence of the potential benefits of soil microorganisms on plant performance under stress, decoupling the effects of the microbiome composition versus the water availability on plant growth and performance remains a challenge. We used a highly controlled and replicated greenhouse experiment to understand the impacts of microbial community composition and water limitation on corn growth and drought-relevant functions. We found that both factors affected corn growth, and, interestingly, that individual microbial relationships with corn growth and leaf function were unique to specific watering/microbiome treatment combinations. This finding may help explain the inconsistent success of previously identified microbial inocula in improving plant performance in the face of drought, outside controlled environments.