Seasonal dynamics of bacterial communities associated with Panicum virgatum roots in a Mississippi common garden experiment

Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) is a conservation agriculture crop with broad geographical distribution and potential high yields on marginal agricultural lands. We sampled bacteria in roots of four switchgrass cultivars planted at low and high densities in southeastern Mississippi and MiSeq-analyzed bacterial (ribosomal RNA variable region V4) metabarcode markers to evaluate bacterial community seasonal dynamics as well as to analyze community responses to switchgrass cultivars and planting densities. These data contribute towards a better understanding of interactions among plants and their associated microbiomes as well as their seasonal dynamics.