A Resident Prophage Metabolically Reprograms Root-Colonizing Pseudomonas to Modulate Plant Physiology

A Resident Prophage Metabolically Reprograms Root-Colonizing Pseudomonas to Modulate Plant Physiology | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article A Resident Prophage Metabolically Reprograms Root-Colonizing Pseudomonas to Modulate Plant Physiology Jonelle Basso, Thai Dao, Vlastimil Novak, Maureen Berg, Nicolas Grosjean, and 10 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8002115/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Microbiomes and their hosts influence one another in a complex and dynamic ecosystem. While bacteria in the root microbiome are recognized for their role in plant health, it still remains unclear whether their viral (phage) activity indirectly influences plant growth. Using machine learning-based viral detection tools, we identified a putative 63.7 kb double-stranded DNA prophage in the plant growth promoting rhizobacterium Pseudomonas simiae WCS417 and experimentally confirmed its lysogenic potential. We co-cultivated the GFP-labeled wild-type (WT) and prophage absent (Δphage) strains with Arabidopsis thaliana and Brachypodium distachyon to assess the prophage’s impact on both bacterial host and plant physiology. Our results demonstrate that prophage presence impacted plant root architecture, root exudate metabolic profiles, and shoot biomass under thermal stress without affecting bacterial colonization ability. Collectively, these findings reveal a triadic plant-bacterium-phage axis in the rhizosphere, underscoring a critical role of phages in shaping community dynamics and plant-microbiome interactions. Biological sciences/Microbiology/Bacteriophages Biological sciences/Microbiology/Environmental microbiology Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria prophages rhizosphere chemistry phage gene function lysogeny Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files Supplementaryinformation10.31.25.pdf A Resident Prophage Metabolically Reprograms Root-Colonizing Pseudomonas to Modulate Plant Physiology Supplementarydata.xlsx Dataset 1 Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8002115","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":546542161,"identity":"a6763b07-93d5-4445-b03a-29c6691554df","order_by":0,"name":"Jonelle 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