Successional Changes In Bacterial Phyllosphere Communities Are Plant-Host Species Dependent

Phyllosphere communities were sampled weekly for 13 weeks from 3 separate forage grass species grown in randomized plots. Plots were either subjected to normal watering conditions or to a 10 week drought period followed by 3 weeks of rewatering. Microbial communities were assessed using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing using the chloroplast excluding 799F and 1115R primers. Sampled were collected from the phyllosphere on three dominant species of temperate forage grasses: Dactylis glomerata, Lolium perenne, and Festuca arundinacea