Plant invasion by Chromolaena odorata alters the soil microbiome and provides insight into the role of copiotrophs

Plant invasion provides an excellent working model for understanding the effects of soil microbial communities associated with natural plant populations. Our study examined the diversity and abundance of the soil microbial communities of Chromolaena odorata, an invasive weed, and Tridax procumbens, a native species in the Asteraceae family. Elemental analysis using the CHN analyser showed an increase in C, H, and N in the soil of the invasive plant C. odorata. Further, meta-genome analyses were performed using long DNA sequencing methods, such as Oxford Nanopore Technology. Data assembly, analysis, and classification of all functional categories were performed using the SqueezeMeta v1.0.0 Pipeline. Microbial taxonomy indicated that Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, and Bacteriodates were abundant in C. odorata soil samples compared to T. procumbens soil. In contrast, Acidobacteria and Tenericutes were abundant in T. procumbens soil samples. In addition, the gene families responsible for the transport and metabolism of carbohydrates and other cellular processes were more abundant in C. odorata soil, while genes involved in energy production, environmental information and processing were more abundant in T. procumbens. Our study suggests that the alteration of soil microbiome and the expression of genes necessary for substrate utilization may play an essential role in plant invasion.