How Plant Sex Shapes Hidden Microbial Worlds

Scientists investigated the tiny microbes living inside four species of plants that grow as separate male and female trees. The species studied were Eucommia, Taxus, Ginkgo, and Mulberry. Because these plants show clear differences between the sexes, the team wanted to learn how plant sex shapes the bacterial and fungal communities inside their bark and leaves.

When it came to bacteria, male plants generally carried more variety than females. In three of the four species, bacterial richness was higher on the male side. A bacterial group called Spirochaetota appeared only on male trees across several species. Acidobacteria were also more common in males of two specific species, suggesting the male plant creates a distinct bacterial habitat.

Fungal communities showed a different pattern. Two fungal genera, Albophoma and Striaticonidium, were found exclusively on female plants across all four species. Another fungus, Sporidesmium, was more abundant on female trees in two of the species. These results hint that plant sex may influence which fungi thrive inside the plant.

Despite these sex-linked differences, the most common bacteria and fungi were surprisingly similar between males and females. Actinobacteria and Proteobacteria were the dominant bacterial phyla, while Ascomycota and Basidiomycota dominated the fungal side. Network analysis also revealed that the main bacterial groups connect more strongly with other microbes than the rarer groups do. These insights help clarify how plant sex shapes hidden microbial life, which could be useful for future studies on plant development and microbe interactions.