Rose microbiome Ecuador

Grafting in rose production is a standard practice to increase yield, improve flower quality or reduce root-associated diseases. The rootstock Natal brier is commonly used in most commercial operations in Ecuador and Colombia. The rose scion genotype exerts an effect on root biomass and root exudated profile of grafted plants. The influence of the rose scion genotype on the rhizosphere microbiome remains unknown. We examined the influence of grafting and scion genotype in the rhizosphere microbiome of the rootstock Natal Brier. The microbiomes of the non-grafted rootstock and the rootstock grafted with two red rose cultivars were assessed using 16S rRNA and ITS sequencing. Grafting changed microbial community structure and function. Further, analysis of grafted plant samples revealed that the scion genotype highly influences the rootstock microbiome. Under the presented experimental conditions, the core microbiome of rootstock Natal Brier consisted of 16 bacterial and 40 fungal taxa. Our results highlight that the scion genotype influences root microbe recruitment which might also influence the functionality of assembled microbiomes.