Data from: Plant genetics and interspecific competitive interactions determine ectomycorrhizal fungal community responses to climate change

Although the importance of plant-associated microbes is increasingly
recognized, little is known about the biotic and abiotic factors that
determine the composition of that microbiome. We examined the influence of
plant genetic variation, and two stressors, one biotic and one abiotic, on
the ectomycorrhizal (EM) fungal community of a dominant tree species,
Pinus edulis. During three periods across 16 years that varied in drought
severity, we sampled the EM fungal communities of a wild stand of P.
edulis in which genetically based resistance and susceptibility to insect
herbivory was linked with drought tolerance and the abundance of competing
shrubs. We found that the EM fungal communities of insect-susceptible
trees remained relatively constant as climate dried, while those of
insect-resistant trees shifted significantly, providing evidence of a
genotype by environment interaction. Shrub removal altered the EM fungal
communities of insect-resistant trees, but not insect-susceptible trees,
also a genotype by environment interaction. The change in the EM fungal
community of insect-resistant trees following shrub removal was associated
with greater shoot growth, evidence of competitive release. However, shrub
removal had a 7-fold greater positive effect on the shoot growth of
insect-susceptible trees than insect-resistant trees when shrub density
was taken into account. Insect-susceptible trees had higher growth than
insect-resistant trees, consistent with the hypothesis that the EM fungi
associated with susceptible trees were superior mutualists. These complex,
genetic-based interactions among species (tree-shrub-herbivore-fungus)
argue that the ultimate impacts of climate change are both ecological and
evolutionary.