Soil samples Targeted Locus (Loci). soil metagenome

We hypothesize that a certain subset of soil microorganisms, of both bacteria and fungi, is distributed across the soil-plant continuum. Such evidence would lend credibility to a hypothesis that environmentally recruited microorganisms may establish endophytically in plant tissues, including seeds, and that at least some environmentally recruited endophytes might be then available for vertical transfer via seeds.