Distribution of apple and blackcurrant microbiota in Lithuania and the Czech Republic

Abstract

The microbial assemblies on the surface of plants correlate with specific climatic features, suggesting a direct link between environmental conditions and microbial inhabitation patterns. At the same time however, microbial communities demonstrate distinct profiles depending on the plant species and region of origin. In this study, we report Next Generation Sequencing-based metagenomic analysis of microbial communities associated with apple and blackcurrant fruits harvested from Lithuania and the Czech Republic. Differences in the taxonomic composition of eukaryotic and prokaryotic microorganisms were observed between plant types. Our results revealed limited geographic differentiation between the bacterial and fungal communities associated with apples. In contrast, blackcurrant berries harvested from different regions demonstrated high diversity in both bacterial and fungal microbiota structures. Among fungal and bacterial microorganisms, we identified both potentially beneficial (Cryptococcus, Hanseniaspora, Massilia, Rhodotorula, Sphingomonas) and phytopathogenic microorganisms (Cladosporium, Pantoea, Phoma, Pseudomonas, Septoria, Taphrina) indicating their important roles in ecological and evolutionary processes.

Fungal Microbiota of Sea Buckthorn Berries at Two Ripening Stages and Volatile Profiling of Potential Biocontrol Yeasts

“…Changes in the planting regime alter microbial habitat and diversity, affect functional traits [22]. Comprehensive next-generation sequencing-based (NGS) microbiome analysis accomplished on several fruits and berries-such as apples, blackcurrants, grapes, olives, strawberries, oranges, etc.-is mainly focused on plant-conditioned prevalence [23][24][25][26][27][28]. The biogeographic distribution of microbiota communities has been revealed on apple, blackcurrant, and grape [21,28].…”

“…Comprehensive next-generation sequencing-based (NGS) microbiome analysis accomplished on several fruits and berries-such as apples, blackcurrants, grapes, olives, strawberries, oranges, etc.-is mainly focused on plant-conditioned prevalence [23][24][25][26][27][28]. The biogeographic distribution of microbiota communities has been revealed on apple, blackcurrant, and grape [21,28]. The effect of the ripening stage on the development of the microbial population was investigated in grapes, mango, nectarines and plums [8,[29][30][31].…”

Endophytic Mycobiota of Jingbai Pear Trees in North China

“…The plant habitat is a dynamic environment where many factors can affect the structure of the microbial community [4,30]. Previous studies have shown that different plant organs host a different fungal community [18,27,32]. This was verified using a survey that found fungal community structures differed significantly among five organs, since each organ forms a distinctive microenvironment.…”

“…Dothideomycetes has also been reported as the largest group in Pinus halepensis Mill. [45], Lycopodium annotinum L. and Lycopodium clavatum L. [46], as well as blackcurrant berries in Lithuania [32]. Members of Dothideomycetes include several plant pathogens and the majority are found to be endophytes, or saprobes growing on woody debris, decaying leaves or dung [19,46,47].…”

“…Liu et al [31] suggested a genotype-specific influence of different rootstock/scion combinations on apple endophytic microbiota. Another study revealed limited geographic differentiation of fungal communities in apples trees, while a high diversity of fungal community structures was found in blackcurrant from different regions [32]. More research is needed to investigate the endophytic community.…”