Fig. 2.

Recruitment dynamics of the plant microbiome during two stages of plant growth in a potential agricultural ecosystem. Initially, bulk soil diversity is high; however, planting seeds promotes the recruitment of a beneficial microbiome that may include a few taxa, decreasing biodiversity. The microbiota recruited from the rhizosphere could also colonize the endosphere and travel to other plant tissues, such as aerial areas. The plant phyllosphere is also susceptible to recruiting new members of the microbiome. Once agricultural production ends in the first period, the soil can regain its biodiversity through the input of organic matter, crop rotation, etc. In a second period, the plant can have a microbiome made up of endophytic bacteria that were inherited horizontally, characterized by long-term relationships or that are part of the core microbiome of the plant host. Additionally, the plant can recruit other members of the rhizosphere and the phyllosphere. See the text for the references that support the illustration.