Data from: Domesticated tomatoes are more vulnerable to negative plant-soil feedbacks than their wild relatives

Domesticated plants can differ from their wild counterparts in the strength and outcome of species interactions, both above- and belowground. Plant-soil feedbacks influence plant success, and plant-associated soil microbial communities can influence plant interactions with herbivores and their natural enemies, yet, it is unclear if domestication has changed these relationships. To determine the effects of domestication on plant-soil interactions, we characterized soil microbial communities associated with various cultivars of domesticated tomato and some of its wild relatives. We measured the strength and direction of plant-soil feedbacks for domesticated and wild tomatoes, and the effects of soil on plant resistance to specialist herbivory by Manduca sexta, and the attraction of a parasitoid wasp, Cotesia congregata. Domesticated tomatoes and their wild relatives had negative plant-soil feedbacks, as conspecifics cultivated soil that negatively impacted performance of subsequent plants (longer germination time, lower biomass) than if they grew in non-tomato soils. Significant variation existed among domesticated and wild tomato varieties in the strength of these feedbacks, ranging from neutral to strongly negative. For aboveground plant biomass, tomato wild relatives were unaffected by growing in tomato-conditioned soil while domesticated tomatoes grew smaller in tomato soil, indicating effects of plant domestication. Overall, increased microbial biomass within the rhizosphere resulted in progressively less-negative plant-soil feedbacks. Plant cultivars had different levels of resistance to herbivory by M. sexta, but this did not depend on plant domestication or soil type. The parasitoid C. congregata was primarily attracted to herbivore damaged plants, independent of plant domestication status, and for these damaged plants, wasps preferred some cultivars over others, and wild plants grown in tomato soil over wild plants grown in non-tomato soil. Synthesis: These results indicate that crop tomatoes are more likely to show negative plant-soil feedbacks than wild progenitors, which could partially explain their sensitivity to monocultures in agricultural soils. Further, cultivar-specific variation in the ability to generate soil microbial biomass, independent of domestication status, appears to buffer the negative consequences of sharing the same soil. Last, soil legacies were relatively absent for herbivores, but not for parasitoid wasps, suggesting trophic level specificity in soil feedbacks on plant-insect interactions.Tomato_domestication_PLFATomato_domestication_plant_soil_feedbacksFunding provided by: National Science FoundationCrossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100000001Award Number: DBI-130650