Desert plants, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and associated bacteria: Exploring the diversity and role of symbiosis under drought

Desert plants, such as Agave tequilana, A. salmiana and Myrtillocactus geometrizans, can survive harsh environmental conditions partly due to their symbiotic relationships with microorganisms, including arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). Interestingly, some of these fungi also harbour endosymbiotic bacteria. Our research focused on investigating the diversity of these AMFs and their associated bacteria in these plants growing in arid soil. We found that agaves have a threefold higher AMF colonization than M. geometrizans. Metabarcoding techniques revealed that the composition of AMF communities was primarily influenced by the plant host, while the bacterial communities were more affected by the specific plant compartment or niche they inhabited. We identified both known and novel endofungal bacterial taxa, including Burkholderiales, and confirmed their presence within AMF spores using multiphoton microscopy. Our study also explored the effects of drought on the symbiosis between A. tequilana and AMF. We discovered that the severity of drought conditions could modulate the strength of this symbiosis and its outcomes for the plant holobiont. Severe drought conditions prevented the formation of this symbiosis, while moderate drought conditions promoted it, thereby conferring drought tolerance in A. tequilana. This research sheds light on the diversity of AMF and associated bacteria in Crassulacean Acid Metabolism (CAM) plants and underscores the crucial role of drought as a factor modulating the symbiosis between A. tequilana and AMF. Further research is needed to understand the role of endofungal bacteria in this response. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, along with their endobacteria, could potentially aid desert plants, specifically those using Crassulacean Acid Metabolism (CAM), in surviving drought conditions prevalent in arid ecosystems. This research highlights the diversity and presence of these three-way symbiotic relationships in agave and cactus plants. Furthermore, it underscores the significant role of drought as a factor that influences the symbiotic relationship between the plant and fungi, and the subsequent effects on the overall plant organism, or 'holobiont'. image