Fig. 2

Root-associated microbial communities are separable by sample type and developmental stage. A PCoA using the Bray-Curtis metric indicates that the largest separation between bacterial communities is sample type (PCo 1) and the second-largest source of variation in the developmental stage (PCo 2). B alpha-diversity measurements between different sample types and developmental stages indicate a decreasing gradient in microbial diversity of the rhizosphere from vegetative to reproductive