Fonseca-García C., Coleman-Derr D., Garrido E., Visel A., Tringe S. G., Partida-Martínez L. P., The Cacti Microbiome: Interplay between Habitat-Filtering and Host-Specificity, Frontiers in Microbiology, 2016, 7:150, doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2016.00150
The study compares bacteria, archaea and fungi associated with Myrtillocactus geometrizans and Opuntia robusta at two sites in Guanajuato. Marker sequencing covered six compartments, from soil to root and stem interiors, in the dry and rainy seasons. Community differentiation was strongest among sampling compartments, with a particularly marked host association in fungi inside stems. A separate component describes isolated seed-borne bacteria and their laboratory traits.