Contrasting effects of rhizosphere and sediment microbiota on seagrass performance in response to a simulated marine heatwave

Climate change-induced temperature stress is drastically affecting the health and survival of plants across terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. For terrestrial plants, below-ground microbes can enhance plant performance in response to environmental stress and recent evidence suggests a similar role for marine plants. Despite this, the potential for below-ground microbes to enhance marine plant resilience against climate change-induced marine heatwaves (MHWs), an ocean temperature stress that is increasing in frequency and intensity globally, remains unclear.
We experimentally manipulated microbial communities in the Zostera muelleri rhizosphere and bulk sediment through root sterilisation and sediment autoclaving to determine their influence on seagrass growth and survival under two marine heatwave scenarios (recent MHW profile and an end-of-century scenario).
Seagrasses with an experimentally disrupted rhizosphere microbiome showed reduced growth under all temperature and sediment..., The experiment was designed to evaluate the effects of sediment microbiota, rhizosphere microbiota and marine heatwaves on the growth and survival of the seagrass Zostera muelleri. Sediments from a seagrass meadow were collected and processed to create treatments with intact and disrupted (sterilised) microbiota. Seagrass shoots were also collected, standardised, and treated to either maintain or disrupt root-associated microbes.  Seagrass shoots were planted in the pots, which were then deployed in pots at the aquarium facilities of the Sydney Institute of Marine Sciences (SIMS) under three different temperature treatments. , , # Data from: Contrasting effects of rhizosphere and sediment microbiota on seagrass performance in response to a simulated marine heatwave

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.m37pvmddb](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.m37pvmddb)

## Description of the data and file structure

The experiment was designed to assess the effects of sediment microbiota, marine heatwaves, and root-associated microbes on the growth and survival of the seagrass *Zostera muelleri*. Sediments from a seagrass meadow were collected and processed to create treatments with intact and disrupted (sterilized) microbiota. Seagrass shoots were also collected, standardized, and treated to either maintain or disrupt root-associated microbes. Plants were then exposed to three temperature treatments: ambient, current marine heatwave conditions, and future extreme marine heatwave conditions in a mesocosm experiment. Seagrass growth and survival were recorded. Samples from rhizosphere and bulk sediment were taken for bacterial commun...,