Importance of Microbiomes: in forest trees (Introduction)

by David Turell , Monday, July 01, 2024, 16:51 (143 days ago) @ David Turell

In all trees:

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#trash/FMfcgzQVxRGFSFQrVSzTQktxHcrwZsGd

"Just like humans and other animals, trees have a large and unique microbiome living inside them, according to a new study. Wood makes up the largest amount of biomass on the planet, and if you've ever seen mushrooms sprouting from a wizened oak, you know that they can be infected by pathogenic fungi. Leaves are also coated with and contain microbes that help prevent disease. Much less is known about the microbes living inside healthy trees.

"So, a team of researchers studied microbes living inside 150 trees in a Connecticut forest. They removed wood samples from the trunks by taking cores thinner than a pencil. On average, they found one bacterium for every 20 plant cells. Crunching the numbers, that means a typical five-ton tree is hosting a trillion bacteria inside its bark. Don't be too impressed—your digestive tract contains 38 times more.

"Just as different animal species have their own distinct microbiomes, the 16 tree species studied had unique microbial assemblages. Maple trees, for example, had a lot more sugar-eating specialists, which makes sense when you think about where maple syrup comes from. And tree species known to resist rot, like Eastern hemlock, had the lowest concentration of microbes in their sapwood.

"To get a more detailed view, the researchers cut down a black oak taller than 10 meters and took samples throughout the length of its trunk, as well as in the bark, leaves, roots, and surrounding soil. The heartwood community changed with height, perhaps due to differences in wood age and structure. As with the other trees, they found that the oak's innermost tissue, called heartwood, has a microbial community distinct from the surrounding sapwood, which is more directly connected to the roots. In fact, half of the microbial community found in the sapwood was also present in the soil, suggesting that soil microbes are colonizing trees."

Comment: microbiomes are everywhere and usually beneficial. We must live with them, and we evolved from them. The flip side is there are some nasty actors whose presence we must accept. A benevolent God did this, fully understanding the consequences.