Interestingly, it has been shown that the composition of leaf microbiota can be influenced by host genotypes 12вЂ“ 14 and a recent ecological study showed an intriguing positive correlation between leaf bacterial diversity and terrestrial ecosystem productivity 15. Compared to roots, for example, leaves have a larger apoplast, which facilitates gas exchange essential for photosynthesis and provides a largely air-filled internal space for microbiota colonization. The phyllosphere is functionally distinct from the belowground rhizosphere. Compared to the intensively studied roles of root-colonizing microbiota in plant health 4вЂ“ 11, the collective community-level contribution of phyllosphere microbiota to plant growth, development and health is less understood. The phyllosphere is inhabited by a diverse microbiota, with some phyllosphere microbiota living on the surface of plants as epiphytes and others residing inside leaves as endophytes 2, 3. Pattern-triggered immune signaling, MIN7 and CAD1 are found in major land plant lineages and are likely key components of a genetic network through which terrestrial plants control the level and nurture the diversity of endophytic phyllosphere microbiota for survival and health in a microbe-rich environment. Bacterial community transplantation experiments demonstrated a causal role of a properly assembled leaf bacterial community in phyllosphere health. The relative abundance of Firmicutes was dramatically reduced, whereas Proteobacteria were enriched in the mfec and cad1 mutants, bearing some cross-kingdom resemblance to what occurs in human inflammatory bowel disease. Here we show that the Arabidopsis quadruple mutant ( m in7 f ls2 e rf c erk1 mfec 1 hereinafter) simultaneously defective in pattern-triggered immunity and the MIN7 vesicle traffic pathway or the constitutively activated cell death1 ( cad1) mutant defective in a вЂњmembrane-attack-complex/perforin ( MACPF) domainвЂќ protein have altered endophytic phyllosphere microbiota and display leaf tissue damages associated with dysbiosis. Whether and how plants control phyllosphere microbiota to ensure plant health is poorly understood. The aboveground parts of terrestrial plants (collectively called phyllosphere) are sometimes considered to be the вЂњlungs of the planetвЂќ and represent one of the most abundant habitats for microbiota colonization on earth.

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