Plant-associated microbial communities contribute to host fitness, and perturbations in the plant microbiome can have a major impact on plant health. Drought has recently been shown to lead to enrichment of monoderm bacteria within the roots of many plant species across many environments. However, the underlying causes of this shift, and the consequences for plant fitness, remain largely unexplored. We present the hypotheses that drought-induced shifts in plant metabolism may be responsible for the observed monoderm enrichment, and that increased monoderm abundance may promote increased drought tolerance in the host. Finally, we discuss how these recent discoveries may inform ongoing efforts to use microbially mediated strategies to improve crop productivity.

中文翻译：

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保守的细菌根微生物组对干旱胁迫的响应的原因和后果。

与植物相关的微生物群落有助于宿主适应，而对植物微生物组的干扰可能会对植物健康产生重大影响。最近已证明，干旱会导致跨多种环境的许多植物物种的根部内的单皮层细菌富集。但是，这种转变的根本原因以及对植物适应性的影响在很大程度上尚待探索。我们提出的假说是，干旱引起的植物代谢变化可能是所观察到的单皮植物富集的原因，而增加的单皮植物丰度可能会促进宿主对干旱的耐受性增加。最后，我们讨论这些最新发现如何为使用微生物介导的策略提高作物生产率的持续努力提供信息。