The phyllosphere, particularly the leaf surface of plants, harbors a diverse range of microbiomes that play a vital role in the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems. However, our understanding of microbial successions and their impact on functional genes during plant community development is limited. In this study, considering core and satellite microbial taxa, we characterized the phyllosphere microbiome and functional genes in various microhabitats (i.e., leaf litter, moss and plant leaves) across the succession of a plant community in a low-altitude glacier foreland. Our findings indicate that phyllosphere microbiomes and associated ecosystem stability increase during the succession of the plant community. The abundance of core taxa increased with plant community succession and was primarily governed by deterministic processes. In contrast, satellite taxa abundance decreased during plant community succession and was mainly governed by stochastic processes. The abundance of microbial functional genes (such as C, N, and P hydrolysis and fixation) in plant leaves generally increased during the plant community succession. However, in leaf litter and moss leaves, only a subset of functional genes (e.g., C fixation and degradation, and P mineralization) showed a tendency to increase with plant community succession. Ultimately, the community of both core and satellite taxa collaboratively influenced the characteristics of phyllosphere nutrient-cycling genes, leading to the diverse profiles and fluctuating abundance of various functional genes during plant community succession. These findings offer valuable insights into the phyllosphere microbiome and plant–microbe interactions during plant community development, advancing our understanding of the succession and functional significance of the phyllosphere microbial community.

中文翻译：

---

冰川前陆植物群落发育过程中叶际微生物组和营养循环基因的组装和演替


叶际，特别是植物的叶表面，蕴藏着各种各样的微生物组，这些微生物组在陆地生态系统的功能中发挥着至关重要的作用。然而，我们对微生物演替及其在植物群落发育过程中对功能基因的影响的理解是有限的。在这项研究中，考虑到核心和卫星微生物类群，我们描述了低海拔冰川前陆植物群落演替中各种微生境（即落叶层、苔藓和植物叶子）中的叶圈微生物组和功能基因。我们的研究结果表明，叶际微生物组和相关生态系统的稳定性在植物群落的演替过程中增加。核心类群的丰度随着植物群落的演替而增加，并且主要受确定性过程的控制。相反，卫星类群丰度在植物群落演替过程中减少，主要受随机过程控制。植物叶片中微生物功能基因（如C、N、P水解和固定）的丰度通常在植物群落演替过程中增加。然而，在落叶层和苔藓叶中，只有一部分功能基因（例如碳固定和降解以及磷矿化）表现出随着植物群落演替而增加的趋势。最终，核心类群和卫星类群的群落共同影响叶际养分循环基因的特征，导致植物群落演替过程中各种功能基因的多样性和丰度波动。 这些发现为植物群落发育过程中的叶际微生物组和植物-微生物相互作用提供了宝贵的见解，增进了我们对叶际微生物群落的演替和功能意义的理解。