Vertical transfer and functional characterization of cotton seed core microbiota

Microbial communities within plant tissues are pivotal for co-evolution with host plants. These communities can colonize the plant, with potential transmission via seeds between parents and offspring, affecting seedling growth and host plant adaptability to the environment. We investigated the vertical distribution of core microbial communities in cotton seeds across ecological niches (inter-root, root, stem, leaf, and seed) of the three cotton genotypes.