Rhizosphere microbiome associated with the two ecotypes of Andropogon gerardii

This study focuses on the interaction between the plant host exudates and its associated rhizobiome functional capabilities. We aim to bridge this knowledge gap and deepen our understanding of the mechanisms underlying plant-microbe and microbe-microbe recognition, communication, and recruitment. We selected 24 Andropogon gerardii rhizosphere samples to gain more insights into microbial functions that could potentially enhance plant resilience, as well as plant responses to microbial interactions, during drought stress. Our samples were from two reciprocal gardens in two precipitation extremes, H - Hays, Kansas, USA, 580 mm per year and C - Carbonate, Illinois, USA, 1,167 mm per year, planted with two regional ecotypes (Dry and Wet). After more than 10 years since the experiment's initiation, we sampled rhizospheric samples associated with these two ecotypes. We sequenced on the Illumina NovaSeq paired-end sequencing run. Using these sequence data, we performed gene- and genome-centric analyses to evaluate the functional potential of the recruited microbes. The genome-centric analysis included assembling the Metagenome Assembles Genomes (MAGs)The gene-centric analysis included functional analysis of the metabolic pathways using HUMAnN and community profiting using MetaPhlAn