Abstract
While the evidence supports a role for the soil microbiome to modulate
the environmental tolerance of various plant species, its role in the
invasion success remains seldom assessed. Here we show results from two
complementary experiments aimed at understanding the role of the soil
microbiome on the performance of T. officinale (dandelion)
plants. Since the relative importance of soil microbiome on plant
fitness can differ between native versus introduced origins, we
conducted a full cross-transplant experiment to compare the plant
performance from different origins (native/introduced) in their original
or exotic soils, along with manipulated soil microbiome. In addition,
since the relevance of soil microbiome for plant fitness can depend on
the level of environmental stress, we compared the plant performance
under different soil microbiome treatments in an introduced latitudinal
gradient. We found positive effects of soil microbiome on performance
traits for T. officinale plants from most of the evaluated
populations, being particularly relevant for plants in the introduced
range and under stressful conditions.
Key words: Invasion, Microbiome, Symbiosis, Taraxacum
officinale