Congeneric temperate orchids recruit similar yet differentially abundant endophytic bacterial communities that are uncoupled from soil, but linked to host phenology and population size.

The two orchids exhibited preferential recruitment of known growth-promoting OAB communities from soil. Their OAB communities also showed considerable overlap despite the large environmental and geographical separation of the two host taxa. Our results lend further support to the emerging evidence that not only the fungi, but root-associated bacteria also have functional importance for plant ecology. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.