Skip to main content
SLU publication database (SLUpub)

Research article2021Peer reviewedOpen access

Dynamics of the Apple Fruit Microbiome after Harvest and Implications for Fruit Quality

Bosch, Yvonne; Britt, Elisabeth; Perren, Sarah; Naef, Andreas; Frey, Jurg E.; Buhlmann, Andreas

Abstract

The contribution of the apple microbiome to the production chain of apple was so far largely unknown. Here, we describe the apple fruit microbiome and influences on its composition by parameters such as storage season, storage duration, storage technology, apple variety, and plant protection schemes. A combined culturing and metabarcoding approach revealed significant differences in the abundance, composition, and diversity of the apple fruit microbiome. We showed that relatively few genera contribute a large portion of the microbiome on fruit and that the fruit microbiome changes during the storage season depending on the storage conditions. In addition, we show that the plant protection regime has an influence on the diversity of the fruit microbiome and on the dynamics of pathogenic fungal genera during the storage season. For the genus Neofabraea, the quantitative results from the metabarcoding approach were validated with real-time PCR. In conclusion, we identified key parameters determining the composition and temporal changes of the apple fruit microbiome, and the main abiotic driving factors of microbiome diversity on apple fruit were characterized.

Keywords

apple; fruit microbiome; fruit quality; Neofabraea spp

Published in

Microorganisms
2021, Volume: 9, number: 2, article number: 272Publisher: MDPI

    Associated SLU-program

    SLU Plant Protection Network

    UKÄ Subject classification

    Microbiology

    Publication identifier

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms9020272

    Permanent link to this page (URI)

    https://res.slu.se/id/publ/111023