In a project supported by the JGI Community Science Program, UC Merced scientists conducted a shotgun metagenomic survey of conifer needle microbiomes across six sites in the Rocky Mountains. The work described in a recent Microbiome paper represents the first study of this nature.
The phyllosphere or aerial surface of plants is a comparatively understudied area of forest ecosystems. Scientists conducted a shotgun metagenomic survey on three types of conifers—limber pine, Douglas fir and Engelmann spruce—to learn more about conifer needle microbiomes. The survey showed that microbial community composition and functional potential varied across tree species and sites, reflecting ecological patterns shaped by both local conditions and the movement of microbes through forest canopies.
Part of the work was done through a summer project in the JGI-UC Merced Internship Program. In 2023, Shayna Bennett, a UC Merced graduate student in Carolin Frank’s lab, worked on an aspect of the paper with her JGI mentor, Robert Bowers. She contributed to the analysis of mobile genetic elements across all of the metagenomes.
