Compositional and functional profiling of the rhizosphere microbiome of exotic and native plants along an invasive gradient of Ageratina adenophora

Ageratina adenophora (Sprengel) is a notorious weed and has now invaded more than 40 tropical and subtropical countries. Of the mechanistic hypotheses proposed to explain its invasion success, the mechanism of plant soil feedbacks (PSFs) has received increasing attention. However, our understanding of it is still limited. In the present study, high throughput 16S rRNA gene and internal transcribed spacer fragment sequencing were used in combination with transcriptome analysis to compare the composition and metabolism of the rhizosphere microbiomes (RM) of the aggressive weed Ageratina adenophora and native plant species Artemisia indica and Imperata cylindrica along an A. adenophora invasion gradient. The aim was to to determine which microbial populations were favoured by A. adenophore, and to what extent its invasion changed the composition and metabolic activities of its RM.