Annual plant competition experiment results and associated mycobiome ASV tables

Major theories regarding microbe-mediated plant community dynamics assume that plant species cultivate distinct microbial communities. However, few studies empirically assess the role of species-associated microbial community dissimilarity in plant competitive dynamics. In this study, we paired a competition experiment between eight annual forbs with a characterization of species-associated fungal communities to assess whether mycobiome dissimilarity is associated with pairwise competitive dynamics. Using a quantitative approach informed by modern coexistence theory, we found that fungal dissimilarity was correlated with both increased stabilizing niche differences and fitness inequalities. Additionally, we found that the probability of coexistence increased with mycobiome dissimilarity. When subsetting the community into different fungal functional groups (pathotrophs, saprotrophs, symbiotrophs), overall relationships between dissimilarity and competitive dynamics were independent of t..., , , # Competition and Mycobiome Similarity

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.cfxpnvxfp](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.cfxpnvxfp)

These data were those used to assess the degree to which key metrics of competition (interaction coefficients, niche differences, fitness inequalities, and probability of coexistence) are related to the dissimilarity of plant species associated mycobiomes. A competition experiment between eight native annual plants from Willamette Valley prairies was paired with sequencing of rhizosphere soil associated with each plant species. Competition experiment data were used to fit population models and estimate species interaction terms, which were then used to calculate niche differences, fitness inequalities, and the probability of coexistence for each species pair. Rhizosphere samples went through DNA extraction, PCR, and library prep for Illumina sequencing of the ITS region. Sequences were run through DADA2 to assign ASVs, and subsquently filtered to generate the avail...