Microbiomes in Living Tree Trunks

A study of microbiomes in living tree trunks reveals that the woody tissues of trees contain a trillion microbial cells in addition to the actual tree cells. This includes single-celled bacteria and archaea, which are specialized for different parts of the tree and for various tree species.

The research team, led by Jonathan Gewirtzman of Yale University, studied more than 150 trees across 16 species in the northeastern United States. The trees examined included red maples, black birches, and white ashes. They discovered that microbes can live in both the outer sapwood and the inner heartwood, with each region hosting its own microbiome. Sapwood is mainly inhabited by microbes that require oxygen, while heartwood contains anaerobic microbes.

The study shows that microbiomes in living tree trunks vary from species to species. But how do these microbes get inside the trees? It might happen through wounds or openings, or they could be passed through the tree’s seeds. Perhaps, there is another route scientists have yet to discover. Regardless of the method, Gewirtzman explains, “What looks like one thing is a trillion-in-one organisms living together.”

When you see a tree, you might not realize how intricate its design is. Genesis 1:11-12 states, “Then God said, ‘Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds,’ and it was so. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seeds according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seeds in it according to their kinds.”

Like many other living things, scientists are only beginning to understand the complexity of microbiomes in living tree trunks. We can recognize that there is a God through the things He has made, including trees. (See Romans 1:20.)

— John N. Clayton © 2025

Reference: dnyuz.com