Bacteria are so small and so ubiquitous that it seems like they should be found everywhere. But recent work shows that much like animals and plants, most bacteria have discrete distributions. We asked: does host association shape bacterial distribution in nature? In Pratibha’s first paper from the lab, we describe how bacteria from the genus Methylobacterium are distributed across nearly 40 different rice landraces from Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur. Collaborating with the labs of Shivaprasad and Radhika at NCBS, we found that bacterial carbon-use phenotypes are largely shaped by the landrace they inhabit. Suprisingly, sugar availability on rice leaves does not correlate with the carbon-use phenotypes, leaving us with many new questions. For more, read the paper. Meanwhile, enjoy this lovely illustration by Pranjal Gupta!
