Root-associated communities in elicitor-treated winter wheat

Chemical elicitors are used to trigger plant resistance against herbivore and pathogen attacks by inducing pathways related to plant defense and secondary metabolism. Few studies have investigated their potential effects on soil microbial communities and plant feedbacks. To address this, we designed a pot experiment where winter wheat seeds were treated with three different elicitors prior to cultivation. We hypothesized that the application of elicitors would affect the abundance and composition of the plant-associated microbial communities and alter soil functioning. Winter wheat plants were harvested 23 days after germination. The community composition and genetic potential for ammonia oxidation, but also of total archaeal and bacterial communities, in the rhizosphere and in the roots were characterized, and plant traits were determined.In sample names:R1-R4: replicate 1-4N0, N100: unfertilized, fertilizedCJ: cis-jasmone (1 and 5 mM)MJ: methyl-jasmonate (1 and 5 mM)MS: methyl-salicylate (1 and 10 mM)Sequencing datasets: ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) and bacteria (AOB), 16S rRNA gene