Maize microspore microbiome, origins and transmission across the life cycle and other plant tissues

The goals of this study were to determine whether microspores, the pollen progenitor cells, had a microbiome (i.e. were not sterile). This information was obtained and further connected to other tissue microbiomes such as the mature pollen and seed progeny to determine potential for pollen-mediated sexual transmission, and to the shoot sap to identify potential origins/sources for these taxa.