Ecosystems to molecules: How historical precipitation shapes the soil microbiota’s effect on plant drought tolerance

March 25, 2026

Location

Online

Presenters

Maggie Wagner
Associate Professor
Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, USA

Outline

Drought alters the soil microbiota by selecting for functional traits that preserve fitness in dry conditions. Legacy effects or ecological memory refers to how past stress exposure influences microbiota responses to future environmental challenges.

How precipitation legacy effects impact soil microorganisms and plants is unclear, especially in the context of subsequent drought.

Here we characterized the metagenomes of six prairie soils spanning a precipitation gradient in Kansas, United States. A microbial precipitation legacy, which persisted over a 5-month-long experimental drought, mitigated the negative physiological effects of acute drought for a native wild grass species, but not for the domesticated crop species maize. RNA sequencing of roots revealed that soil microbiota with a low precipitation legacy altered expression of plant genes that mediate transpiration and intrinsic water-use efficiency during drought.

Our results show how historical exposure to water stress alters soil microbiota, with consequences for future drought responses of some plant species.