Biology subjects

Pande, P. M.

Publications and source records attributed to Pande, P. M..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Seed microbiota legacy mitigates the effect of drought in wheat

Seeds carry epiphytes and endophytes microbial partners that can shape plant fitness. However, whether these microbial communities serve as transgenerational memory systems of parental stress remains largely unstudied. Here, we combined multi-year field rainfall manipulation experiments in eastern Canada with a greenhouse experiment in western Canada to test whether seed-associated microbiota transmit drought legacies across plant generations. In the field experiment, reduced rainfall initially decreased yield in the drought-sensitive wheat cultivar (AC Nass), but selected for distinct seed bacterial endophyte communities. In subsequent generations, plants whose seed microbiota retained compositional similarity to these drought-adapted communities showed enhanced yield stability under upcoming water stress. A transgenerational field test confirmed that daughter plants derived from drought-exposed parent plants maintained performance under water limitation, whereas those from wetter origins did not. In an independent greenhouse assay using seeds from Saskatchewan fields differing in long- and short-term irrigation history, AC Nass plants from water-stress legacy sites exhibited higher photosynthetic efficiency, water-use efficiency, and root bacterial diversity under drought. Together, these findings demonstrate that seed-associated microbiota act as ecological archives of stress history, transmitting drought legacies across generations in a cultivar and year-dependent manner.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2025

The metatranscriptomic response of the wheat rhizosphere to drought varies with growth stages.

Microbes can help plant sustain abiotic stresses, such as drought. Plant-microbe interactions are, however, dynamic and the timing of the stress will affect both partners, directly and indirectly. Here, we hypothesize that the effect of drought stress on the wheat rhizosphere microbiome would change between key growth stages. We grew wheat in pots and reduced soil water content for two weeks at stem elongation, booting, or heading. We then sampled the rhizosphere soil and sequenced its metatranscriptome. The timing of the drought strongly affected the transcriptional response of the microbes, but few differentially abundant transcripts were shared across all stages. Some common patterns were however observed at higher taxonomical or functional levels. Drought also affected the normal succession across wheat growth stages. Many of the differentially abundant transcripts, taxa and functions between growth stages of the control plants were not significant anymore for plants that experienced drought. Our results suggest that the timing of the drought event is paramount to the microbial rhizosphere communities, and that it could explain the heightened sensitivity of younger plants to stresses.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2022

Metatranscriptomic response of the wheat holobiont to decreasing soil water content

Crops associate with microorganisms that help their resistance to biotic. However, it is not clear how the different partners of this association react during exposure to stresses. This knowledge is needed to target the right partners when trying to adapt crops to climate change. Here, we grew wheat in the field under rainout shelters that let through 100%, 75%, 50% and 25% of the precipitation. At the peak of the growing season, we sampled plant roots and rhizosphere, and extracted and sequenced their RNA. We compared the 100% and the 25% treatments using differential abundance analysis. In the roots, most of the differentially abundant (DA) transcripts belonged to the fungi, and most were more abundant in the 25% precipitation treatment. About 10% of the DA transcripts belonged to the plant and most were less abundant in the 25% precipitation treatment. In the rhizosphere, most of the DA transcripts belonged to the bacteria and were generally more abundant in the 25% precipitation treatment. Taken together, our results show that the transcriptomic response of the wheat holobiont to decreasing precipitation levels is more intense for the fungal and bacterial partners than for the plant.

microbiology↗