Microbial Ecology最新文献

{"title":"Bacterial and Fungal Microbiota in Anopheles darlingi Exhibit Differences in Diversity Across Three Main Colombian Malaria-endemic Regions.","authors":"Paola Muñoz-Laiton, Juan C Hernandez-Valencia, Juan Pablo Isaza, Maisa da S Araújo, Joana Falcão Salles, Margarita M Correa","doi":"10.1007/s00248-026-02829-9","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00248-026-02829-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Anopheles darlingi is the main malaria vector in the Neotropics. Despite their importance, little is known about the microbiota composition in areas where these vectors are found. Since the microbiota may influence host biology and vector competence, it is essential to understand these microbial communities in endemic regions. This study explores the bacterial and fungal communities in An. darlingi from three malaria-endemic areas in Colombia and examined how geography influences microbial composition. Mosquitoes were collected from the Bajo Cauca, Pacific and Amazonas regions, and their microbiota was characterized by amplifying and sequencing the 16 S rRNA V3-V4 region for bacteria and the ITS2 region for fungi. Analysis indicated greater alpha diversity in An. darlingi mosquitoes from the Amazonas region. Beta diversity findings demonstrated differences in bacterial and fungal community compositions across regions, especially between Amazonas and the other two regions. Additionally, the similarity of microbial communities declined slightly with increasing geographic distance. This study significantly advances our understanding of the microbiota associated with An. darlingi in endemic regions of Colombia, by revealing notable differences in bacterial and fungal community composition and abundance across diverse geographical populations. Importantly, these new insights extend beyond species and geographic boundaries by providing evidence of specific fungal communities linked to the vector, paving the way for innovative microbiota-based vector control strategies in malaria vector research.</p>","PeriodicalId":18708,"journal":{"name":"Microbial Ecology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2026-07-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148421263","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Insights into the Mechanism Underlying the Symbiosis between Seagrass and a Lulworthiaceae Fungus.","authors":"Xiao Wang, Jiawei Chen, Yang Tang, Hongbin Liu","doi":"10.1007/s00248-026-02808-0","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-026-02808-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Various fungi have been identified in seagrass compartments; however, the exact nature of their interactions with these marine flowering plants remains largely uncharacterized. The partnership between seagrasses and Lulworthiaceae fungi represents a typical and compelling example of such an underwater association. Here, we combine UHPLC-MS/MS, transcriptomics, and plant growth assays to validate the putative symbiosis between the seagrass Halophila ovalis and the Lulworthiaceae fungus Halophilomyces hongkongensis, and elucidate the underlying mechanism of this relationship. We confirmed that H. hongkongensis produces the phytohormone indole-3-acetic acid (IAA). Through transcriptomic analysis, we proposed its IAA biosynthesis pathways. All identified IAA biosynthesis genes were upregulated in seagrass roots/rhizomes compared to rhizosphere sediments, with the tryptophan aminotransferase gene (indole-3-pyruvic acid pathway) exhibiting a significant increase. Furthermore, H. hongkongensis was confirmed as a plant growth-promoting fungus; its culture filtrates promoted Arabidopsis thaliana shoot and lateral root/root hair growth, an effect strongly correlated with IAA production and highly likely in seagrass. Beyond IAA-specific analyses, its upregulated genes were significantly enriched in pathways such as tryptophan metabolism, starch/sucrose metabolism, and DNA replication. Collectively, these results indicate that H. hongkongensis establishes a growth-promoting symbiosis with H. ovalis by upregulating its IAA biosynthesis genes and secreting IAA; in return, the host provides carbohydrates that sustain fungal metabolism and support active DNA replication. This study provides the first mechanistic verification of a seagrass-Lulworthiaceae symbiosis, significantly advancing our understanding of marine plant-fungal interactions. It also demonstrates the first IAA-linked plant growth-promoting capacity of a member from the cryptic marine fungal family Lulworthiaceae.</p>","PeriodicalId":18708,"journal":{"name":"Microbial Ecology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2026-07-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148421236","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Tracking Microbiome Composition and Stability Across Indian Social Honeybees Foraging in a Homogeneous Mustard Crop Landscape.","authors":"Dipendra Nath Basu, Pawan Khangar, Kunjan Joshi, Shivani Krishna, Imroze Khan","doi":"10.1007/s00248-026-02828-w","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-026-02828-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Microbial communities are essential for host health and ecosystem stability. However, whether host identity or shared foraging resources shapes microbiome structure among co-occurring species remains poorly understood. We studied bacterial and fungal communities of four Indian honeybee species in a mustard monoculture resource condition, integrating behavioural observation-based pollinator data with microbial co-occurrence networks derived from metabarcoding. Microbiome composition was more strongly associated with host identity rather than with foraging behaviour, bee abundance, or landscape use. This has strong implications for how microbial sharing among co-occurring social honeybee species can be limited, thereby preventing them from influencing each other's microbiomes through shared foraging and driving variable pollinator health within a shared ecosystem. While core bacterial taxa were shared, relationships among bacterial cobionts, unlike those among fungal genera, remained species-specific. Microbial diversity, along with community structure and function, influenced network stability, with a highly modular microbial network of Apis cerana exhibiting more predicted network robustness to simulated perturbations. In summary, host-specific filtering shaped the microbiome more than resource homogenisation, with closely related species facing unique risks of disruption of microbial co-occurrence, with broader implications for vulnerability to microbiome imbalance, environmental stress, and emerging infections.</p>","PeriodicalId":18708,"journal":{"name":"Microbial Ecology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2026-07-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148422392","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Extracellular DNA Alters Detection of Subtle Bacterial Responses to Soil Rewetting.","authors":"H A Kittredge, K M Dougherty, Kathryn Glanville, Sarah E Evans","doi":"10.1007/s00248-026-02827-x","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-026-02827-x","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Microbial communities are often characterized using DNA-based sequencing, but these approaches also capture extracellular DNA (exDNA) released from dead cells, potentially altering inference about microbial responses to environmental change. This may be especially important during pulse disturbances, such as soil drying-rewetting, which can increase microbial mortality and transient necromass pools. We assessed whether exDNA altered inference about bacterial responses to drying-rewetting (an 80 mm simulated rainfall event following a 28-day drought) in conventionally tilled corn and perennial switchgrass soils. We quantified bacterial abundance (16 S rRNA gene copies), alpha diversity, and community composition in paired soil samples with exDNA included (+ exDNA) and in samples treated with propidium monoazide (PMAxx) to reduce amplification of exDNA (- exDNA). At our level of replication (n = 4), PMAxx treatment did not significantly alter overall temporal response patterns (i.e., no significant main effect of DNA treatment or DNA × time interaction). However, PMAxx treatment increased sensitivity to detect some pairwise temporal changes in bacterial abundance and community composition in corn soils following rewetting. exDNA pools were proportionally highest immediately after rewetting in corn soils, suggesting transient extracellular DNA may contribute to masking during disturbance recovery. In contrast, PMAxx treatment had comparatively small effects in switchgrass soils, which exhibited weaker temporal responses overall. Inclusion of exDNA also changed which taxa appeared most responsive to rewetting. Together, our results suggest that exDNA does not uniformly bias soil microbial inference, but may reduce detectability of subtle disturbance-driven shifts in certain soils. Future studies should advance knowledge of microbial turnover and necromass dynamics, particularly using multiple complementary methods, to help predict when exDNA is most likely to influence ecological inference.</p>","PeriodicalId":18708,"journal":{"name":"Microbial Ecology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2026-07-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148412296","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effects of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Compounds (PFASs) on Anaerobic Granular Sludge: Methane Production and Microbial Community Composition.","authors":"Davide Righetti, Borja K Soliman Tamayo, Silvia Lampis, Piet N L Lens","doi":"10.1007/s00248-026-02793-4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-026-02793-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>PFASs are a group of pollutants ubiquitous in the environment, for which their effects on the microbial community composition and activity of anaerobic granular sludge are still poorly understood. With our study, we aimed to provide insight into the impact of four PFASs on the methane yield of anaerobic granular sludge (AGS) using acetate as the substrate. Anaerobic granular sludge was exposed to different concentrations of 1H,1H,2H,2H-Tridecafluorooctan-1-ol (6:2FTOH), 1H,1H,2H,2H-Perfluoro-1-decanol (8:2FTOH), Tridecafluorohexane-1-sulfonic acid (PFHxS) and Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). While the two fluorotelomers caused marginal changes in methane production, PFHxS and PFOA greatly inhibited acetoclastic methanogenesis. Depending on the concentration, the AGS could recover its activity after a certain number of hours when incubated with PFASs. The 50% Inhibitory Concentration (IC₅₀) of the methane production was estimated to be 278.98 (± 3.2) mg/L for PFOA and 1,091.9 (± 26.78) mg/L for PFHxS. PFASs exposure also influenced the archaeal and eubacterial communities. The most significant change was observed with the eubacterial community, which showed an increase in the relative abundance of the genus Sulfurospirillum in the samples treated with 2,000 mg/L of 8:2FTOH and 600 mg/L of PFOA, whose presence grew to represent 16.65% and 45.4% of all reads in those samples. These findings provide insight into the differential impact of PFASs on methanogenic processes and highlight their potential to disrupt key microbial functions in anaerobic systems.</p>","PeriodicalId":18708,"journal":{"name":"Microbial Ecology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2026-07-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148412335","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Environmental Gradients Shape the Distribution of Free-Living and Host-Associated Syndiniales Life Stages.","authors":"Neea Hanström, Kinlan M G Jan, Monika Winder","doi":"10.1007/s00248-026-02831-1","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00248-026-02831-1","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Marine alveolate parasites, particularly early-branching dinoflagellates of the order Syndiniales, play critical yet often overlooked roles in shaping marine microbial communities. These parasitoids infect diverse hosts, including dinoflagellates, copepods, and fish eggs, and rely on short-lived, free-living dinospores for transmission. Despite their ecological significance, the distributions of Syndiniales dinospores and host-associated life stages across environmental gradients remain poorly understood. We used 18S rRNA gene region DNA metabarcoding combined with size-fractionated water filtration across vertical and horizontal gradients of salinity, oxygen, and nutrients in the Baltic Sea-Skagerrak system to characterize Syndiniales life-stage distributions and identify clades producing dinospores. This approach enables the differentiation of free-living dinospores and host-associated life stages. Most reads were assigned to Syndiniales groups I and II, indicating the presence of both host associations and dinospore presence. Dinospore communities were more diverse than host-associated life stages and showed variation in spatial distribution and community composition. The spatial variation was related to salinity, oxygen, and nitrogen concentrations, emphasizing the role of environmental conditions in shaping niches suitable for host-parasite associations and infection transmission. Our findings highlight the prevalence of Syndiniales communities across an environmental gradient and the influence of environmental conditions on their distribution patterns.</p>","PeriodicalId":18708,"journal":{"name":"Microbial Ecology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2026-07-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13350157/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148405280","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Multiscale Structuring of Mycorrhizal Fungal Communities of Tropical Epiphytic Orchids.","authors":"Juan Pablo Suárez, Stefania Cevallos, Paulo Herrera","doi":"10.1007/s00248-026-02830-2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-026-02830-2","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Symbiotic interactions with root-associated fungi are essential for orchid germination, nutrient acquisition and survival, yet the factors structuring these symbioses in tropical epiphytic orchids remain poorly understood. Tropical montane forests provide an ideal system for examining these interactions because steep environmental gradients occur over short geographic distances. We investigated how elevation, variation among populations within elevational belts and host identity shape root-associated fungal communities in the southern Ecuadorian Andes, a region of exceptional epiphytic orchid diversity. Root samples from 699 individuals representing 11 orchid species were analyzed using ITS2 amplicon sequencing. A total of 4,697 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were recovered, including 271 putative orchid mycorrhizal fungi. Fungal richness peaked at mid elevation and declined at higher elevations. Community composition varied significantly among elevational belts, sites and host species, with differences among elevations driven primarily by species turnover rather than nestedness. Despite this turnover, mycorrhizal assemblages maintained a persistent core across elevations, while site-level heterogeneity contributed to fine-scale differentiation. These results indicate that fungal community assembly in epiphytic orchids is structured across multiple spatial scales by elevational gradients, local environmental conditions and host identity. The mid-elevation diversity peak and stronger filtering at higher elevations indicate that orchid-fungus symbioses are highly sensitive to environmental gradients, with potential consequences for their stability under ongoing environmental change in tropical montane forests.</p>","PeriodicalId":18708,"journal":{"name":"Microbial Ecology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2026-07-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148405293","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Unravelling Extremophilic Microbiome Diversity and Functional Dynamics in Hypersaline Environment.","authors":"Steffy Joseph, L Stanley Abraham, Krishnamanikumar Premachandran, Antony V Samrot, R Thirugnanasambandam, K Ragavendhar, Hissah Abdulrahman Alodaini, Nadine Ms Moubayed, Ashraf Atef Hatamleh, Ravishankar Ram Mani, Soon Woong Chang, Balasubramani Ravindran","doi":"10.1007/s00248-026-02817-z","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-026-02817-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Solar salt pans are extreme hypersaline environments that represent functionally specialised microbial communities mediating essential biogeochemical transformation. Vedaranyam, a coastal region of the Bay of Bengal containing artificially constructed solar salterns for salt production. There is limited information available on the metagenome diversity and functional profiling of this saltpan, which prompted us to investigate it. Here, we report the first whole metagenome sequencing to explore the dynamics of the functional structure of microbial communities in saltpan during the preharvest and postharvest phases of salt production. Methanobacteriota and Pseudomonadota dominated both phases at the phylum level, while Halobacteria comprised the most abundant class (53.2% preharvest; 48% postharvest). A notable bloom of Dactylococcopsis salina was observed during postharvest (4.28% to 12.67%) and flock doubling of Cyanobacterota relative abundance (5.5% to 10.6%), reflecting photosynthetic primary production following salt removal. Conversely, during postharvest phase sulfur oxidising Guyparkeria halophila reduced 23 fold, while the DMSP accumulating osmolyte producer Salinibaculum marinum dominated preharvest (6.98%). However, functional classification of the metagenome revealed active participation of the microbial community across five major biogeochemical cycles. Encompassing carbon fixation by cyanobacteria and diverse haloarchaea, nitrogen cycling through diazotrophy and denitrification, a cryptic preharvest sulfur cycle coupling sulfate reduction and sulphide oxidation, phase shifted DMSP catabolism, and light driven bacteriorhodopsin through archaeal energy conservation. Metagenomic assembly yielded ten metagenomic assembled genomes (MAGs), revealing the taxonomic diversity and metabolic potential of the dominant halophilic community across biogeochemical cycles. These results provide critical insights into the ecological succession from an anaerobic, chemolithotrophy-rich preharvest microbial community to an aerobic, photosynthetically driven postharvest assemblage, advancing our understanding of microbial biogeochemistry in managed hypersaline ecosystems.</p>","PeriodicalId":18708,"journal":{"name":"Microbial Ecology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2026-07-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148391400","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Drivers of Mosquito Microbiome Composition: Effects of Species, Locality, Season, and Plasmodium Infection.","authors":"Marta Garrigós, Jesús Veiga, Mario Garrido, María José García-López, Manuel Morales-Yuste, Clotilde Marín, Jesús Recuero, María José Rosales, Isabel Moreno-Indias, Josué Martínez-de la Puente","doi":"10.1007/s00248-026-02801-7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-026-02801-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Mosquito microbiota influences mosquito physiology and pathogen development, finally affecting their vectorial capacity. Identifying the factors that affect the composition of mosquito microbial communities in nature is essential for designing effective strategies to control vector-borne pathogens. Here, we used a 16 S rRNA metabarcoding approach to analyse the microbiome of 196 mosquito pools (four females per pool) of three common species: Culex pipiens, Aedes albopictus, and Culiseta longiareolata. Mosquitoes were collected from spring to autumn 2022 in five sampling localities of southern Spain. Mosquito bacterial alpha diversity was higher in Cs. longiareolata compared to Cx. pipiens and Ae. albopictus. In addition, beta diversity and the relative abundance of different bacterial taxa differed among mosquito species. Wolbachia dominated the bacterial community of Cx. pipiens and Ae. albopictus, but were virtually absent in Cs. longiareolata. Furthermore, using Cx. pipiens -the most extensively sampled species here- we further investigated differences in the microbiome composition according to sampling localities, seasons, and avian Plasmodium infection status. Locality and season affected the bacterial alpha and beta diversity, with mosquitoes collected in autumn from the Fuengirola locality showing a higher observed richness. Differences in beta diversity among localities and seasons could be, at least in part, influenced by differences in beta dispersion. The relative abundance of different taxa in Cx. pipiens varied by locality, season, and avian Plasmodium infection status. In sum, both intrinsic and environmental factors influence mosquito microbiome, yet the potential consequences for pathogen transmission should be further addressed. This study provides a comprehensive framework to understand the ecological drivers of wild mosquito microbiome, a key step for predicting vector-pathogen interactions and improving strategies for vector-borne disease control.</p>","PeriodicalId":18708,"journal":{"name":"Microbial Ecology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2026-07-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148391410","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Emerging Threats in Southern U.S. Pine Plantations: Temporal Dynamics of Fungal Communities and the Impact of Lecanosticta acicola.","authors":"Carolyn R Cornell, Rabiu O Olatinwo, Olga Kozhar, Kristi Wharton, Jane E Stewart","doi":"10.1007/s00248-026-02825-z","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-026-02825-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Globally, pine forest ecosystems are under increased threat of foliar fungal pathogens. This includes brown spot needle blight (BSNB), caused by Lecanosticta acicola. High disease severity of BSNB has been observed in loblolly pine plantations across the Southeastern U.S., causing substantial declines in productivity. Because foliar disease outcomes depend on phyllosphere community interactions, shifts in community composition under climate variation may influence outbreak potential of L. acicola. To investigate these interactions, fungal communities in first- and second-year symptomatic and asymptomatic needle tissue were examined over two years across six loblolly pine plantations in central Louisiana. L. acicola was consistently enriched in symptomatic needles and emerged as a strong indicator of disease, including increasing crown dieback, particularly in first-year needles. Disease progression was associated with reduced fungal diversity and pronounced shifts in community composition, consistent with microbiome dysbiosis. Additional fungi, including Lophodermium and Soleella, were enriched in symptomatic needles, likely representing opportunistic associates with a potential role in disease. There were distinct differences in the relationship with climate variables for symptomatic and asymptomatic communities. Symptomatic communities were associated with higher humidity, higher minimum temperatures, and reduced solar radiation, whereas asymptomatic communities were correlated with warmer, drier conditions. Our findings demonstrate that BSNB severity reflects both L. acicola infection and broader needle fungal community disruption, with first-year needles being especially vulnerable. These results underscore the need to integrate microbial community dynamics and climate into disease monitoring and management, as increasing humidity, warmer nights, and more variable precipitation likely elevate fungal pathogen risk.</p>","PeriodicalId":18708,"journal":{"name":"Microbial Ecology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2026-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148376328","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}