BACKGROUND The plant microbiota is crucial for plant health and growth. Recently, vertical transmission of a beneficial core microbiota was identified for crop seeds, but for native plants, complementary mechanisms are almost completely unknown. METHODS We studied the seeds of eight native plant species growing together for centuries under the same environmental conditions in Alpine meadows (Austria) by qPCR, FISH-CLSM, and amplicon sequencing targeting bacteria, archaea, and fungi. RESULTS Bacteria and fungi were determined with approx. 1010 gene copy numbers g-1 seed as abundant inhabitants. Archaea, which were newly discovered as seed endophytes, are less and represent only 1.1% of the signatures. The seed microbiome was highly diversified, and all seeds showed a species-specific, highly unique microbial signature, sharing an exceptionally small core microbiome. The plant genotype (species) was clearly identified as the main driver, while different life cycles (annual/perennial) had less impact on the microbiota composition, and fruit morphology (capsule/achene) had no significant impact. A network analysis revealed significant co-occurrence patterns for bacteria and archaea, contrasting with an independent fungal network that was dominated by mutual exclusions. CONCLUSIONS These novel insights into the native seed microbiome contribute to a deeper understanding of seed microbial diversity and phytopathological processes for plant health, and beyond that for ecosystem plasticity and diversification within plant-specific microbiota.

中文翻译：

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本土高山植物的种子蕴藏着嵌入跨界网络的独特微生物群落。

背景植物微生物群对于植物健康和生长至关重要。最近，在作物种子中发现了有益核心微生物群的垂直传播，但对于本土植物来说，补充机制几乎完全未知。方法 我们通过 qPCR、FISH-CLSM 和针对细菌、古细菌和真菌的扩增子测序，研究了在高山草甸（奥地利）相同的环境条件下共同生长了几个世纪的八种本土植物的种子。结果 细菌和真菌的测定大约为：1010 个基因拷贝数 g-1 种子作为丰富的居民。古细菌是新发现的种子内生菌，数量较少，仅占特征的 1.1%。种子微生物组高度多样化，所有种子都表现出物种特异性、高度独特的微生物特征，共享一个异常小的核心微生物组。植物基因型（物种）被明确确定为主要驱动因素，而不同的生命周期（一年生/多年生）对微生物群组成的影响较小，果实形态（蒴果/瘦果）没有显着影响。网络分析揭示了细菌和古细菌的显着共现模式，这与以互斥为主的独立真菌网络形成鲜明对比。结论这些对天然种子微生物组的新颖见解有助于更深入地了解种子微生物多样性和植物健康的植物病理过程，以及植物特定微生物群内的生态系统可塑性和多样化。