Séminaire Ecobio - Katie Emilianova (Univ. Vienna) - OSERen, Salle De Conférences, RDC Bât.14B, Campus De Beaulieu De L'Université De Rennes

Spartina, a genus of salt marsh grasses, includes pioneer species with high tolerance to salinity and prolonged inundation. Studies of S. alterniflora root microbial diversity identified a core microbiome dominated by sulfur-oxidizing bacteria from the genus Candidatus Thiodiazotropha (Sedimenticolaceae family), which are thought to play a crucial role in maintaining plant health in harsh coastal environments. These bacteria are thought to perform vital ecosystem services in other marine systems such as seagrasses, where the microbial symbiont benefits the plant host by mitigating sulfide toxicity and likely providing nitrogen.
Spartina has a complex history of hybridization and polyploidy, leading to variable ploidy levels across species. Polyploidy is associated with increased vigour via larger cell and organ size, phenomena which have been suggested to increase the ability of the polyploid host to recruit and host beneficial symbiotic bacteria. However, the interaction between polyploidy and microbial symbioses remains poorly understood. Our aim is to investigate whether Spartina species of different ploidies vary in their ability to recruit and host microbial symbionts, providing insights into plant-microbe interactions and their role in plant invasions.