Plant Growth Benefits by the Coalition Function of Plant Microbiome

Plant-associated microbial communities consist of plant holobiont and play an essential role in plant growth and development, yet their collective functions are not fully understood. Theoretically, microbiota can act as integrated consortia, conferring emergent properties beyond those of single species. Here, we show that the tomato rhizosphere microbiome, when stimulated by a Flavobacterium dauae , enhances plant growth by activating the phytosterol biosynthesis pathway in both the microbiota and the plant host, a function unattainable by individual microbial species. A reconstructed synthetic community, based on meta-transcriptome of plant microbiota, recapitulated this microbiome-driven activity upon stimulation by F. dauae . This synthetic community also restored the growth response in diverse sterol-deficient plant mutants. The microbial consortium exhibits multispecies biofilm formation and functional specialization among its members, constituting a microbial coalition that promotes plant growth. This study provides direct experimental evidence that plant microbiota function as a coordinated unit and orchestrate host plant development. We highlight this to be a plant holobiont function based on microbial community coalition in host plant.