Effectiveness of certain sterilizing agents for seedling incubation in radiothymidine

Failure of seed sterilization methods and breakdown in sterile technique can result in catabolism of thymidine by microorganisms during seedling incubation in radioisotope. The effectiveness of some sterilizing agents was monitored by microbiological methods and by thin layer chromatography for the presence of thymidine degradation products. Sodium hypochlorite and ethylene oxide each sterilized pea and sunflower seeds. Sodium hypochlorite failed to sterilize onion seeds while ethylene oxide was only occasionally effective and often retarded germination. Captan, commonly used before germination to prevent fungal blight of seedlings, did not reduce the bacterial flora of onion seeds.     

Variable influences of soil and seed-associated bacterial communities on the assembly of seedling microbiomes

Plants grown in distinct soils typically harbor distinct microbial communities, but the degree of the soil microbiome influence on plant microbiome assembly remains largely undetermined. We also know that the microbes associated with seeds can contribute to the plant microbiome, but the magnitude of this contribution is likely variable. We quantified the influence of soil and seed microbiomes on the bacterial community composition of seedlings by independently inoculating seeds from a single cultivar of wheat (Triticum aestivum) with 219 unique soil slurries while holding other environmental factors constant, determining the composition of the seed, soil, and seedling bacterial communities via cultivation-independent methods. Soil bacterial communities exert a strong, but variable, influence on seedling bacterial community structure, with the extent of the soil bacterial contribution dependent on the soil in question. By testing a wide range of soils, we were able to show that the specific composition of the seedling microbiome is predictable from knowing which bacterial taxa are found in soil. Although the most ubiquitous taxa associated with the seedlings were seed derived, the contributions of the seed microbiome to the seedling microbiome were variable and dependent on soil bacterial community composition. Together this work improves our predictive understanding of how the plant microbiome assembles and how the seedling microbiome could be directly or indirectly manipulated to improve plant health.Subject terms: Microbial ecology, Next-generation sequencing, Microbial ecology     

Endophytic fungal diversity of 2 sand dune wild legumes from the southwest coast of India

Endophytic fungi of 3 age classes (seeds, seedlings, and mature plants) and 5 tissue classes (cotyledons, seed coats, roots, stems, and leaves) of coastal sand dune legumes Canavalia cathartica and Canavalia maritima were assessed by plating surface-sterilized segments on malt extract agar. Forty-six fungal taxa comprising 6 ascomycetes, 33 mitosporic fungi, 2 zygomycetes, and 5 sterile morphospecies were recovered. There was no significant difference in the colonization frequency of endophytes between plant species (p = 0.4098, Student's t test). Among the age classes, endophytic fungi colonized over 90% of seedlings and mature plants. Similarly, among tissue classes, endophytic fungi colonized over 90% of root, stem, and leaf segments. Diversity and richness of endophytic fungi were higher in C. cathartica than in C. maritima. Rarefaction curves revealed a "higher expected number of species" in mature plants of C. cathartica and seedlings of C. maritima, whereas it was highest in leaves of both plant species. The most dominant endophyte, Chaetomium globosum, colonized over 50% of the root, stem, and leaf segments of C. maritima and over 50% of the root segments of C. cathartica. The colonization frequency of C. globosum was found to be 5%-12.5% in seeds and increased up to 40%-64.4% in seedlings or mature plants. Halosarpheia sp. was the only marine fungus recovered among the endophytes.     

Seeds photoblastism and its relationship with some plant traits in 136 cacti taxa

Seed germination triggered by light exposure (positive photoblastism) has been determined in quantitative studies for numerous plant families and species. For Cactaceae, positive photoblastism is thought to be associated with life form and seed mass, but this association has never been evaluated. To explore hypotheses on associations between seed mass, seed dispersal, seed dormancy, life form, taxa and plant height with Relative Light Germination (RLG) in Cactaceae, we evaluated the effect of light on seed germination of 136 taxa. The taxa studied are native to several countries: México, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Perú, USA, and Venezuela. Seed traits contrasted with RLG were life form, seed mass, seed dispersal, seed dormancy, adult plant height and taxon. We found some differences between RLG among taxa; Cacteae, Pachycereeae and Trichocereeae had higher RLG than Notocacteae. RLG was lower for seeds from taller than for shorter taxa, and lower for taxa with heavier seeds than for taxa with lighter seeds. Dispersal syndrome groups varied with RLG. RLG did not differ between cylindrical and globose taxa. Trends found here were in agreement with expectations for small-seeded species to have a light requirement to germinate more often than large-seeded species. This is the first time that cactus height is related to photoblastism. It is possible that seeds from tall plants are larger and thus have the capacity to produce taller seedlings than those from small plants, and that seedlings from large seeds with more resources have the ability to emerge from greater soil depths than those from small seeds.     

Effects of rice seed surface sterilization with hypochlorite on inoculated Burkholderia vietnamiensis.

When a combination of hydrogen peroxide and hypochlorite was used to surface sterilize rice seeds, a 10(2)- to 10(4)-fold decrease in CFU was observed during the first 15 h after inoculation of the rice rhizosphere organism Burkholderia vietnamiensis TVV75. This artifact could not be eliminated simply by rinsing the seeds, even thoroughly, with sterile distilled water. When growth resumed, a significant increase in the frequency of rifampin- and nalidixic acid-resistant mutants in the population was observed compared to the control without seeds. This phenomenon was a specific effect of hypochlorite; it was not observed with hydrogen peroxide alone. It was also not observed when the effect of hypochlorite was counteracted by sodium thiosulfate. We hypothesized that the hypochlorite used for disinfection reacted with the rice seed surface, forming a chlorine cover which was not removed by rinsing and generated mutagenic chloramines. We studied a set of rifampin- and nalidixic acid-resistant mutants obtained after seed surface sterilization. The corresponding rpoB and gyrA genes were amplified and sequenced to characterize the induced mutations. The mutations in five of seven nalidixic acid-resistant mutants and all of the rifampin-resistant mutants studied were found to correspond to single amino acid substitutions. Hypochlorite surface sterilization can thus be a source of artifacts when the initial bacterial colonization of a plant is studied.     

Predispersal seed predation on five Piper species in tropical rainforest

Absolute number of seeds lost to predispersal seed predators and proportion of total seeds lost per infructescence were compared among five Costa Rican Piper species of different annual fecundities. Mean seed number and mean seed size in the five species were negatively correlated. The impact of predation on these species was inversely related to the number of seeds they produced. The two early successional species had very high fecundities, a combination of many seeds per infructescence, many infructescences per plant, and, in one species, year-round reproduction. Although seed predators destroyed as many or more seeds of these early successional species than they did of the less fecund, late successional species, this loss accounted for a relatively minor proportion (9 and 12%) of the seeds of the early successional species. In contrast, late successional species produced fewer, larger seeds in a smaller number of infructescences and were not continually in fruit. One of these species, which produced intermediate numbers of intermediately sized seeds, lost 30% of the seeds in each infructescence on average. Seed predators destroyed a larger proportion (65 and 76%) of the seeds per infructescence in the two species with fewest seeds per infructescence. High levels of insect damage in these late successional species caused many of their infructescences to abort prematurely. Taken together these factors resulted in annual fecundities several orders of magnitude smaller in shade-tolerant Piper species than the annual fecundities of shade-intolerant, early successional species. Seedlings of the two early successional species were common in large gaps and other sunny clearings and seedlings of the species with 30% seed loss were occasional, whereas no seedlings were seen of the two species with the highest proportional seed loss, suggesting that seed predation on the latter species may limit seedling recruitment.     

Evidence for Effective Seed Dispersal by the Sulawesi Red-Knobbed Hornbill,Aceros cassidix1

The Sulawesi red-knobbed hornbill (Aceros cassidix) is a large-bodied, frugivorous bird that nests in high densities in the Tangkoko-DuaSudara Nature Reserve, North Sulawesi, Indonesia. I measured seedling abundance and species richness, diversity, and dominance in plots placed below and immediately behind 20 active nest sites to evaluate the role of red-knobbed hornbills as agents of seed dispersal. Comparisons of treatment (below nests) and control plots (behind nests) show that hornbills affect the abundance and distribution of diet-species seedlings. Nondiet and nest tree seedlings did not differ between control and treatment plots suggesting that differences in diet species were the result of additional input by hornbills rather than by random or other dispersal events. Significantly greater numbers of diet seedlings germinated below nests, and the diversity of diet species was greater than that of nondiet species. Dominance of a few species in the treatment plots is consistent with the hypothesis that hornbills are effectively dispersing seeds of some, but not all, of their diet species. Although seedlings under nests may eventually experience density-dependent mortality, seedlings survived at least 12 months, indicating that red-knobbed hornbills were effectively dispersing seeds and influencing the initial fate of seeds of several tropical forest tree species.     

Bacteria within ovules and seeds.

Surface-sterilized ovules and seeds of 27 species of plants were cultured in the water of syneresis of a nutrient medium low in agar content. Bacteria were obtained from 30% of the ovules, 15% of the seeds of herbaceous plants, 16% of the seeds of woody plants, 5.4% of the overwintered noncereal seeds, and 13.5% of overwintered cereal seeds. In no instance did every ovule or seed of a plant species contain bacteria. No bacteria were obtained from the hard, waxy seeds of mimosa or yellowwood. They were not obtained from ovules with unbroken coats or from seeds with coats that were not ruptured during the swelling of the seed. Only one species of bacteria was recovered in 93% of the instances in which bacteria were obtained. Bacteria were obtained from seeds that were embedded in the acidic parenchyma of the lemon or surrounded by the thickened flesh of the cucurbits. The bacteria were distributed among 19 genera and 46 species. The species isolated in greatest numbers were Bacillus megaterium, B. cereus, Erwinia herbicola, Flavobacterium devorans, and Pseudomonas fluorescens. Bacteria recovered less frequently were in the genera Achromobacter, Acinetobacter, Alcaligenes, Brevibacterium, Corynebacterium, Cytophaga, Leuconostoc, Micrococcus, Nocardia, Proteus, Streptococcus, Streptomyces, and Xanthomonas. Members of 11 genera and 15 species of bacteria were isolated once.     

Enhanced attachment of Bradyrhizobium japonicum to soybean through reduced root colonization of internally seedborne microorganisms

Internally seedborne microorganisms are those surviving common surface sterilization procedures. Such microbes often colonize the radicle surface of a germinating soybean (Glycine max) seed, introducing an undefined parameter into studies on attachment and infection by Bradyrhizobium japonicum. Bacterial isolates from surface-sterilized soybean seed, cv. Williams 82 and cv. Maverick, used in our studies, were identified as Agrobacterium radiobacter, Aeromonas sp., Bacillus spp., Chryseomonas luteola, Flavimonas oryzihabitans, and Sphingomonas paucimobilis. Growth of these microbes during seed germination was reduced by treating germinating seeds with 500 micrograms/mL penicillin G. The effects of this antibiotic on seedling development and on B. japonicum 2143 attachment, nodulation, and nitrogen fixation are reported here. Penicillin G treatment of seeds did not reduce seed germination or root tip growth, or affect seedling development. No differences in nodulation kinetics, nitrogen fixation onset or rates were observed. However, the number of B. japonicum attached to treated intact seedlings was enhanced 200-325%, demonstrating that other root-colonizing bacteria can interfere with rhizobial attachment. Penicillin G treatment of soybean seedlings can be used to reduce the root colonizing microbes, which introduce an undefined parameter into studies of attachment of B. japonicum to the soybean root, without affecting plant development.     

Effects of Rice Seed Surface Sterilization with Hypochlorite on Inoculated Burkholderia vietnamiensis

When a combination of hydrogen peroxide and hypochlorite was used to surface sterilize rice seeds, a 10²- to 10⁴-fold decrease in CFU was observed during the first 15 h after inoculation of the rice rhizosphere organism Burkholderia vietnamiensis TVV75. This artifact could not be eliminated simply by rinsing the seeds, even thoroughly, with sterile distilled water. When growth resumed, a significant increase in the frequency of rifampin- and nalidixic acid-resistant mutants in the population was observed compared to the control without seeds. This phenomenon was a specific effect of hypochlorite; it was not observed with hydrogen peroxide alone. It was also not observed when the effect of hypochlorite was counteracted by sodium thiosulfate. We hypothesized that the hypochlorite used for disinfection reacted with the rice seed surface, forming a chlorine cover which was not removed by rinsing and generated mutagenic chloramines. We studied a set of rifampin- and nalidixic acid-resistant mutants obtained after seed surface sterilization. The corresponding rpoB and gyrA genes were amplified and sequenced to characterize the induced mutations. The mutations in five of seven nalidixic acid-resistant mutants and all of the rifampin-resistant mutants studied were found to correspond to single amino acid substitutions. Hypochlorite surface sterilization can thus be a source of artifacts when the initial bacterial colonization of a plant is studied.     

Germination dimorphism in Suaeda acuminata: A new combination of dormancy types for heteromorphic seeds

Desert annual Suaeda acuminata produces two morphologically distinct types of seeds on the same plant. The main aims of our study were to compare germination characteristics of the dimorphic seeds, ascertain their dormancy types and give the hormonal explanation. The two seed types of S. acuminata absorbed water at different rates with brown seeds imbibing water faster. Germination percentages of brown seeds were significantly higher than those of black seeds in all temperature and light regimes tested. Eight weeks of cold stratification did not break dormancy of black seeds, whereas exogenous GA₃ promoted germination. Excised embryos of untreated black seeds produced normal seedlings. Contents of ZR, GA₃ and ABA of brown seeds were significantly higher than that of black seeds; while contents of IAA of black seeds were significantly higher than that of brown seeds. Brown seeds of S. acuminata are non-dormant, whereas black seeds have intermediate physiological dormancy (PD). Interaction among ZR, ABA and GA₃ may play an important role in dormancy status of both seed types. This is the first report of non-dormancy and intermediate PD in a heteromorphic species.     

Influence of nutrient availability and tree wildling density on nutrient uptake by Oxalis acetosella and Acer saccharum

The different weight-number strategies of seed production displayed by individuals of a Mediterranean fire-prone plant species (Cistus ladanifer) were investigated in relation to seed germination responses to pre-germination heating. A control (no heating), a high temperature during a short exposure time (100 degrees C during 5 min) and a high temperature during a long exposure time (100 degrees C during 15 min) were applied to seeds from different individual plants with different mean seed weight. These pre-germination treatments resemble natural germination scenarios for the studied species, absence of fire, typical Mediterranean shrub fire, and severe fire with high fuel load. Seed germination was related to heat treatments and seed mass. Seed heating increased the proportion of seeds germinating compared with the control treatment. Mean seed weight was positively correlated to the proportion of germinated seeds but only within heat treatments. These results suggest that in periods without fire, the relative contributions to the population dynamics are equal for all seeds, regardless of their mass, whereas heavier seeds would be the main contribution after wildfire events. Since lighter seeds can be produced in higher quantities than heavier ones within a given fruit, the number of seedlings produced per fruit depended strongly on the germination conditions. In the absence of wildfire, fruits producing lighter seeds gave rise to more seedlings; nevertheless, they were numerically exceeded by those producing heavy seeds after a wildfire. The implications of these results are discussed in relation to their consequences on the population dynamics of this species, considering also additional information on stand flammability and changes in seed mass with plant age.     

Scatter-and clump-dispersal and seedling demography: hypothesis and implications

Summary Fruit-eating animals deposit viable seeds in patterns that determine the conditions under which seeds and seedlings live or die. Many tree species are scatter-dispersed by birds, bats, or other small frugivores that regurgitate, defecate, or drop seeds singly or in pairs. These scatterdispersed plant species normally recruit as isolated individuals, and are unlikely to evolve exceptional resistance to herbivores, pathogens, or to other sources of density-dependent seed or seedling mortality. Other tree species are clump-dispersed by larger terrestrial or arboreal frugivores that defecate seeds in masses which produce bouquets of seedlings. Because their seeds invariably germinate in close proximity to other seedlings, clump-dispersed species necessarily evolve chemical or mechanical defenses against seed predators, pathogens, and herbivores that act in a densitydependent manner.Population and genetic attributes should reflect this basic dichotomy in the conditions of seedling recruitment. I predict that seedlings of scatter-dispersed species rarely survive near parents or in dense aggregations under frugivore roosts. Seed dispersal should be mandatory, often to light gaps or other special habitats. Outbred adults and juveniles are expected to exist at low densities in loose aggregations or random distributions. Seedlings of clump-dispersed trees are pre-adapted for survival in dense aggregations near parents, as well as in fecal clumps. Substantial recruitment of juveniles and young adults should occur from undispersed seeds under and near parent trees. Such species should be common, highly aggregated, and show strong genetic family structure. Because recruitment requires dispersal, scatter-dispersed plant species should be especially vulnerable to loss of dispersal agents. Because offspring consistently recruit near parents, clump-dispersed plants should be less vulnerable to temporary loss of dispersal agents.     

EFFECT OF SEED SIZE ON SEEDLING SUCCESS IN THREE SPECIES OF SESBANIA (FABACEAE)

Variation in seed size may produce variation in seedling fitness, but the relationship is not simple. Differences in seed size within and among species may not have the same effects. We examined effects of differences in seed size within and among three species of Sesbania, S. macrocarpa, S. drummondii, and S. vesicaria, on seedling emergence and growth in the greenhouse and the field. Of the three species, the largest-seeded species, S. vesicaria, produced the largest, longest-lived seedlings in both the greenhouse and the field. Even though plant size differed, annual S. macrocarpa produced the same seed mass as annual S. vesicaria in the greenhouse. Within-species effects were less clear. In the greenhouse, S. vesicaria seedlings grown from large seeds remained largest until maturity, but the other species did not exhibit this effect. Some persistent within-species effects of seed size differences on height were observed in the field in 1981, but not in 1980, suggesting that field conditions increase the importance of seed size differences. Unscarified S. drummondii seeds germinated before seeds of the two annual species. Within species, larger seeds of the annuals and smaller seeds of the perennial germinated first. Differences among the species in the importance of seed size to seedling fitness may allow the species to have different patterns of regulation of reproduction in response to stress. Sesbania vesicaria showed the largest within-species effects of seed size and has the lowest plasticity in seed size, suggesting that patterns of plasticity have been selected such that the most important component of yield varies least.     

Fungicide seed treatments increase growth of perennial ryegrass

Field, laboratory and glasshouse experiments were carried out to measure effects of seed treatments with captan or thiram on growth of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.). Field-sown captan- or thiram-treated seed gave twice as many seedlings as untreated seed. Spaced plants growing from fungicide-treated seed produced almost 6 times more dry matter 16 weeks after sowing than those from untreated seed. This effect, though diminishing with time, was still apparent more than a year after sowing. Fungicides in sterile agar growth medium were phytotoxic to seedlings at concentrations of 10μg/ml and greater. Seedlings grown from treated seeds sown from 5 to 15 mm away from developing colonies of the virulent seedling pathogenFusarium oxysporum Schlecht. were more than 4 times larger than those grown from untreated seeds. Captan-treated seed sown into pots containing field soil produced more and larger seedlings than untreated seed. Methyl bromide fumigation of the same soil also increased both number and size of seedlings. Fungicidal, rather than direct chemical effects, at early stages of seedling growth, account for increased growth of plants from fungicide-treated seed.     

种子微生物生态学研究进展

植物种子微生物生态学是研究与种子相联合的微生物的组成﹑功能﹑演替、它们之间关系及其与宿主之间相互关系的科学。种子中蕴含着丰富的微生物资源,它们对种子以及植物的健康具有重要的影响。不同种类植物种子联合的微生物群落由于受到种子本身及外界环境因素的影响而有所差异。论述了种子微生物生态学的概念、主要研究方法、种子微生物生态系统中的微生物种类、相关影响因素,以及种子微生物生态学研究的发展方向。种子微生物生态学的研究对生产实践有重要意义,同时也将丰富种子生物学的内容,对种子科学的发展起到促进作用。     

Maintaining cultures of ectomycorrhizal and plant pathogenic fungi in sterile water cold storage.

Mycelial cultures of 64 isolates of 14 species of ectomycorrhizal fungi and 27 isolates of 15 species of plant pathogenic fungi were grown on agar medium in Petri dishes. Mycelial discs, 8 mm in diameter, were removed from the cultures and stored in sterile distilled water in test tubes at 5 degrees C. Sixty-four, 61, and 41 isolates of the symbiotic fungi were viable after 1, 2, and 3 years storage respectively. Only 19, 10, and 8 isolates of the pathogenic fungi were viable after 1, 2, and 3 years storage, respectively. Time in pure culture before water storage did not affect viability of any fungal species following water storage. After 3 years storage, four fungi (three symbionts and one pathogen) were tested and found to have retained their original growth rates and root-infecting abilities on pine seedlings. The same four isolates, however, maintained on agar slants at 5 degrees C and subcultured every 4 to 6 months, grew slower and did not infect as many feeder roots of pine as the water-stored isolates.     

Seed deposition patterns and the survival of seeds and seedlings of the palm Euterpe edulis

The seed deposition pattern created by a seed disperser is one of the components of the efficiency of a species as seed disperser, and ultimately may influence the recruitment of a plant species. In this study, we used the seeds of a bird-dispersed forest palm, Euterpe edulis, to investigate the effects of two distinct seed deposition patterns created by birds that defecate (clumped pattern) and regurgitate seeds (loose-clumped pattern) on the survival of seeds experimentally set in an E. edulis-rich site, and of seedlings grown under shade-house conditions. The study was conducted in the lowland forest of Parque Estadual Intervales, SE Brazil. Clumped and loose-clumped seeds were equally preyed upon by rodents and insects. Although clumped and isolated seedlings had the same root weight after 1 year, the isolated seedlings survived better and presented more developed shoots, suggesting intraspecific competition among clumped seedlings. Our results indicate that animals that deposit E. edulis seeds in faecal clumps (e.g. cracids, tapirs) are less efficient seed dispersers than those that regurgitate seeds individually (e.g. trogons, toucans). Intraspecific competition among seedlings growing from faecal clumps is a likely process preventing the occurrence of clumps of adult palms.     

不同处理对海甘蓝种子发芽和幼苗生长的影响

由于受种子生理休眠作用的影响和硬而厚的种皮所产生的抑制作用,使海甘蓝（ＣｒａｍｂｅｍａｒｉｔｉｍａＬ．）种子发芽慢,发芽率低。为探索加快海甘蓝种子发芽和提高种子发芽率的有效方法,我们先后进行了８种不同的种子预处理试验和６种不同次氯酸钠溶液浸种的发芽试验。结果发现：（１）种子剥皮处理可以很大程度地促进发芽和提高发芽率;（２）用浓度为０．０５％的赤霉酸溶液浸种１８ｈ对海甘蓝种子发芽也有很好的促进作用;（３）用０．２０％的代森锰锌４５Ｍ（Ｄｉｉｔｈａｎｅ４５Ｍ）溶液浸种２０ｍｉｎ的消毒处理对海甘蓝种子发芽产生一定程度的抑制作用,但可减少海甘蓝幼苗死亡率;（４）适宜浓度的次氯酸钠漂白水（法文名１＇ＥａｕｄｅＪａｖｅｌ）的溶液（１０％）浸种５ｍｉｎ对促进海甘蓝种子发芽和减少幼苗死亡均有良好效果;浓度低于１０％时．不足以腐蚀种子硬而厚的种皮而促进种子发芽,也不足以杀死种子携带的病菌而减少幼苗死亡率;浓度大于１０％时,对种子的胚和种子内的酶活性产生不良影响,从而抑制种子发芽和影响幼苗的正常生长。     

Comparison of different methods for determining lignin concentration and quality in herbaceous and woody plant residues

Background

The development and dispersal of seeds as well as their transition to seedlings represent perhaps the most critical stages of a plant’s life cycle. The endophytic and epiphytic microbial interactions that take place in, on, and around seeds during these stages of the plant’s life cycle may have profound impacts on plant ecology, health, and productivity. While our understanding of the seed microbiota has lagged far behind that of the rhizosphere and phyllosphere, many advances are now being made.

Scope

This review explores the microbial associations with seeds through various stages of the plant life cycle, beginning with the earliest stages of seed development on the parent plant and continuing through the development and establishment of seedlings in soil. This review represents a broad synthesis of the ecological and agricultural literature focused on seed-microbe interactions as a means of better understanding how these interactions may ultimately influence plant ecology, health, and productivity in both natural and agricultural systems. Our current understanding of seed-microbe associations will be discussed, with an emphasis on recent findings that specifically highlight the emerging contemporary understanding of how seed-microbe associations may ultimately impact plant health and productivity.

Conclusions

The diversity and dynamics of seed microbiomes represent the culmination of complex interactions with microbes throughout the plant life cycle. The richness and dynamics of seed microbiomes is revealing exciting new opportunities for research into plant-microbe interactions. Often neglected in plant microbiome studies, the renaissance of inquiry into seed microbiomes is offering exciting new insights into how the diversity and dynamics of the seed microbiome with plant and soil microbiomes as well as the microbiomes of dispersers and pollinators. It is clear that the interactions taking place in and around seeds indeed have significant impacts on plant health and productivity in both agricultural and natural ecosystems.