Traits of soil bacteria predict plant responses to soil moisture

Microbes can promote beneficial plant and animal responses to abiotic environments, but the ecological drivers of this benefit remain elusive. Here we investigated byproduct benefits, which occur when traits that increase the fitness of one species provide incidental benefits to another species with no direct cost to the provider species. In experimental mesocosms, microbial traits predicted plant responses to soil moisture such that bacteria with self-beneficial traits in drought increased plant early growth, size at reproduction, and chlorophyll concentration under drought, while bacteria with self-beneficial traits in well-watered environments increased these same plant traits in well-watered environments. Thus, microbial traits that promote microbial success in different soil moisture environments also promote plant success in these same environments. Our results show that the concept of byproduct benefits, originally conceived to explain the evolution of cooperation in pairwise mut...

微生物可推动动植物对非生物环境产生有益响应，但该有益效应的生态驱动机制仍未明晰。本研究聚焦于副产物益处（byproduct benefits）：当某一物种的适合度提升性状可附带为另一物种提供收益，且无需为提供方物种带来直接成本时，便会产生此类益处。在中型实验生态系统（experimental mesocosms）中，微生物性状可预测植物对土壤水分的响应：在干旱环境下具备自益性状的细菌，可提升干旱条件下植物的早期生长量、繁殖期体型及叶绿素浓度；而在水分充足环境下具备自益性状的细菌，则可在对应水分条件下提升上述植物性状表现。由此可见，可提升微生物在不同土壤水分环境中适配性的性状，同样可推动植物在对应环境中获得良好生长表现。本研究结果表明，最初用于解释成对互作中合作演化的副产物益处概念……