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. 2022 Jul 20;11:e79679. doi: 10.7554/eLife.79679

Figure 1. Tree root recruitment of beneficial bacteria during drought and re-irrigation.

Bacterial dynamics in soil and rhizosphere around roots of irrigated and drought-exposed Cupressus sempervirens saplings. Root colonization (A): epifluorescence and bright-field images of drought tree roots densely colonized by Bacillus subtilis-gfp (green) and Pseudomonas stutzeri-mCherry (red). Orthogonal views of a three-dimensional confocal image were created from a z-stack of x/y-scans on drought trees, 1 and 3 days following inoculation. Dynamics of relative abundance of B. subtilis (green) and P. stutzeri (red) in rhizosphere and soil during drought (B) and during re-irrigation (C). Presented are colony forming units of both species (CFU; expressed as log 10 per g root dry weight) (n=6).

Figure 1—source data 1. Statistical analysis of bacterial growth.

Figure 1.

Figure 1—figure supplement 1. Experimental system and climate.

Figure 1—figure supplement 1.

(A) Each Cupressus sempervirens sapling was grown in a Rhizobox: a covered, transparent, container, allowing access to root sampling and exudates collection. (B) Diurnal changes in maximum (red) and minimum (blue) air temperature and diurnal maximum vapor pressure deficit (VPD; gray) along the course of the experiment, as recorded in a nearby meteorological station (Beit Dagan), 10 km north of the net-house facility.
Figure 1—figure supplement 2. Changes in soil water content (% v/v) in irrigated (blue) and drought-exposed (orange) saplings along the course of the experiment.

Figure 1—figure supplement 2.

Vertical lines indicate the time points of specific interventions. Solid red and blue lines indicate irrigation cessation and re-irrigation, respectively. Dashed violet lines indicate the two bacterial inoculations.