Supplementary files for the paper "Identifying associations between maize leaf transcriptome and bacteriome during different diurnal periods"

Bacteria that live on plant leaves, known as the phyllosphere microbiome, play important roles in plant health. Both the plant and these bacteria follow daily cycles, known as circadian rhythms, and are affected by changes from day to night. However, we still don’t fully understand how the plant and its microbes interact throughout the day.In this study, we looked at corn plants (maize) grown in the field and collected data from both the plant's gene activity and the types of bacteria living on its leaves. We focused on two specific times: midday and midnight.We found that the plant's genes behaved as expected, showing clear changes between day and night. Groups of genes that changed together were linked to important functions like handling heat, making energy through photosynthesis, and working with DNA and RNA.When we looked at the bacteria on the leaves, we didn’t see big differences in the number or types of bacteria (alpha diversity) between day and night. But we did find that the overall makeup of the bacterial community (beta diversity) shifted depending on the time of day. Some key types of bacteria were only found during the day or only at night, suggesting they might play different roles depending on the time.We also found t a larger number of associations between plant genes and bacteria at night. In particular, some plant genes that control daily rhythms were closely linked to specific types of bacteria.Overall, our results show that there are daily patterns in how corn plants and their leaf bacteria interact, and that the plant’s internal clock might help shape which bacteria are present and what they do.