Plant microbiome selection and N-cycling guilds

Plant roots are shaping microbial communities that are distinct from the surrounding soil. These plant-associated microbial communities can have both positive and negative effects on the host nutrient acquisition and thereby growth, yet it is largely unknown how loss of soil diversity will constrain the plant microbiome selection. Here we manipulated the soil microbial community using a removal-by-dilution approach to examine how microbial diversity modulates the plant microbiome selection, including microbial guilds involved in nitrogen cycling processes causing nitrogen loss, and its consequences for plant performance.