Amplicon sequencing reveals different microbial communities in living poplar wetwood and sapwood

Key message A total of 43 phyla (395 genera) of bacteria and 11 phyla (309 genera) of fungi were identified from normal sapwood (SW), wetwood (WW) and their transition zone wood (TW) in living poplar trees, with bacteria showing significantly higher diversity than fungi. Highly variable community diversities and compositions were found for bacteria but not for fungi among WW, TW and SW. Overall, 22 phyla (95 genera) bacteria and three phyla (11 genera) fungi were significantly different in relative abundance between WW and SW. Nine wood chemical properties were significantly correlated with the relative abundance of top 15 bacterial and fungal genera in all samples.