Tissue-specific changes in endophytic bacterial and fungal communities of two pine species associated with pine wilt disease

Pine wilt disease severely threatens pine forests worldwide, yet coordinated shifts in endophytic bacterial and fungal communities across host tissues remain incompletely resolved. We analyzed 16S rRNA gene and ITS amplicons from needles, stems, and roots of healthy trees and naturally infected trees at the mid-to-late stages of disease in Pinus densiflora Siebold & Zucc. (Japanese red pine) and Pinus thunbergii Parl. (Japanese black pine). Tissue-stratified analyses revealed significant disease