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Microbiology

Life on leaves

Nature volume 461, pages 741–742 (2009)Cite this article

The surface of plant leaves — the phyllosphere — is home to many microbes. A 'community proteogenomics' approach offers a fresh look at what it takes to survive and thrive in this unique habitat.

Under the microscope, aerial plant leaves resemble eerie landscapes, with deep gorges, tall peaks and gaping pits that riddle the waxy surface. Add to this scenery a climate that features temperature highs of 50 °C or more, exposure to harmful ultraviolet rays, erratic periods of drought and limited access to nutrients, and one gets the picture that this is a hostile environment. Still, many bacteria, fungi, yeast and other microorganisms dwell in great abundance in this 'phyllosphere'1, which is the subject of a new investigation by Delmotte and colleagues2. In their paper, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, they bring twenty-first-century tools to bear on the phyllosphere, with special reference to bacteria.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Johan Leveau is in the Department of Plant Pathology, University of California, Davis, California 95616-8751, USA. jleveau@ucdavis.edu,

    Johan Leveau

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  1. Johan Leveau
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Leveau, J. Life on leaves. Nature 461, 741–742 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/461741a

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