Lettuce seedlings rapidly assemble their microbiome from the environment through deterministic processes

Abstract Plant-associated microorganisms have significant impacts on plant biology, ecology, and evolution. Although several studies have examined the factors driving variations in plant microbiomes, the mechanisms underlying the assembly of the plant microbiome are still poorly understood. In this study, we used gnotobiotic plants to test (i) whether seedlings create a selective environment and drive the assembly of root and leaf microbiomes through deterministic or stochastic processes, and (ii) whether seedlings structure the microbiome that is transferred through seeds using deterministic processes and whether this pattern changes when seedlings are exposed to the environmental microbiome. Our results show that the microbiome of gnotobiotic plants (i.e., inherited through seeds) is not under the selective influence of the host plant but changes quickly when plants are exposed to soil microbiomes. Within one week, plants were able to select microorganisms from the inocula, assemble the root microbiome, and assemble the shoot microbiome. This study supports the hypothesis that plants at early developmental stages might exert strong selective activity on their microbiomes and contribute to clarifying the mechanisms of plant microbiome assembly.