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<p>Mediterranean ecosystems, one of the most significant global hotspots of biodiversity, are threatened by invasive weeds. Although endomicrobiomes – the vast array of microbes colonising living plant tissues – are known to affect plant fitness, their contribution to weed invasiveness remains virtually unknown. Here, we experimentally assess the role of the endomicrobiome in the invasiveness of <i>Taraxacum officinale</i> (common dandelion), a widespread weed in Mediterranean ecosystems worldwide. In a culling experiment across five generations, we compare the fitness of <i>T. officinale</i> from these ecosystems on five continents grown with intact or reduced native seed-borne endomicrobiomes. Additionally, we report a competition experiment with F<sub>1</sub> and F<sub>5</sub> individuals assessing their impacts on native local Asteraceae species. We found that <i>T. officinale</i> individuals harboring intact endomicrobiomes show faster and more favorable trait development compared with individuals with reduced endomicrobiomes. Enhanced competitiveness of endomicrobiome-colonised <i>T. officinale</i> plants with local Asteraceae species is apparently caused by increased synthesis of allelochemicals in shoots and rhizosphere soil, with gene expression analyses also showing the endomicrobiome to affect the expression by <i>T. officinale</i> of stress response and RNA-directed DNA methylation genes. Our findings provide insights into the mechanisms underlying weed invasiveness in Mediterranean ecosystems.</p>

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The endomicrobiome and weed invasiveness in Mediterranean ecosystems worldwide

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

    开放获取

  • 发表日期：

    2026年2月23日

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  • Marco A. Molina-Montenegro,
  • Ian S. Acuña-Rodríguez,
  • Cristian Atala,
  • Gabriel I. Ballesteros,
  • Fernando Carrasco-Urra,
  • Eduardo Castro-Nallar,
  • Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo,
  • Víctor M. Escobedo,
  • Fernando Fuentes-Peñailillo,
  • Leidy Y. García,
  • Sergio Guajardo-Leiva,
  • Pedro E. Gundel,
  • Rasme Hereme,
  • Raúl Ochoa-Hueso,
  • Luis R. Pertierra,
  • David M. Richardson,
  • Cristian Torres-Díaz,
  • Andrea C. Ueno,
  • Ariel Villalón,
  • Amy E. Zanne,
  • Kevin K. Newsham

摘要

Mediterranean ecosystems, one of the most significant global hotspots of biodiversity, are threatened by invasive weeds. Although endomicrobiomes – the vast array of microbes colonising living plant tissues – are known to affect plant fitness, their contribution to weed invasiveness remains virtually unknown. Here, we experimentally assess the role of the endomicrobiome in the invasiveness of Taraxacum officinale (common dandelion), a widespread weed in Mediterranean ecosystems worldwide. In a culling experiment across five generations, we compare the fitness of T. officinale from these ecosystems on five continents grown with intact or reduced native seed-borne endomicrobiomes. Additionally, we report a competition experiment with F1 and F5 individuals assessing their impacts on native local Asteraceae species. We found that T. officinale individuals harboring intact endomicrobiomes show faster and more favorable trait development compared with individuals with reduced endomicrobiomes. Enhanced competitiveness of endomicrobiome-colonised T. officinale plants with local Asteraceae species is apparently caused by increased synthesis of allelochemicals in shoots and rhizosphere soil, with gene expression analyses also showing the endomicrobiome to affect the expression by T. officinale of stress response and RNA-directed DNA methylation genes. Our findings provide insights into the mechanisms underlying weed invasiveness in Mediterranean ecosystems.