Human, Zander RainierRoets, FrancoisCrous, Casparus J.Wingfield, Michael J.De Beer, Z. WilhelmVenter, S.N. (Stephanus Nicolaas)2022-09-062021-10Zander R. Human, Francois Roets, Casparus J. Crous, Michael J. Wingfield, Z. Wilhelm de Beer, Stephanus N. Venter, Fire impacts bacterial composition in Protea repens (Proteaceae) infructescences, FEMS Microbiology Letters, Volume 368, Issue 19, October 2021, fnab132, https://doi.org/10.1093/femsle/fnab132.0378-1097 (print)1574-6968 (online)10.1093/femsle/fnab132https://repository.up.ac.za/handle/2263/87086The diverse bacterial communities in and around plants provide important benefits, such as protection against pathogens and cycling of essential minerals through decomposition of moribund plant biomass. Biodiverse fynbos landscapes generally have limited deadwood habitats due to the absence of large trees and frequent fire. In this study, we determined the effect of a fire disturbance on the bacterial communities in a fynbos landscape dominated by the shrub Protea repens using 16S ribosomal RNA amplicon sequencing. The bacterial community composition in newly formed fruiting structures (infructescences) and soil at a recently burnt site was different from that in an unburnt site. Bacteria inhabiting P. repens infructescences were similar to well-known taxa from decomposing wood and litter. This suggests a putative role for these aboveground plant structures as reservoirs for postfire decomposer bacteria. The results imply that inordinately frequent fires, which are commonplace in the Anthropocene, are a significant disturbance to bacterial communities and could affect the diversity of potentially important microbes from these landscapes.en© 2021 Oxford University Press. This is a pre-copy-editing, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in FEMS Microbiology Letters following peer review. The definitive publisher-authenticated version is : Fire impacts bacterial composition in Protea repens (Proteaceae) infructescences, FEMS Microbiology Letters, Volume 368, Issue 19, October 2021, fnab132, https://doi.org/10.1093/femsle/fnab132, is available online at : http://jhered.oxfordjournals.org.Fire disturbanceBacterial communitiesFynbos landscapeProtea repens16S ribosomal RNA amplicon sequencingPostprint Article