Temporal and spatial variation in bacterial communities of “Jonagold” apple (Malus x domestica Borkh.) and “Conference” pear (Pyrus communis L.) floral nectar

Nectar bacterial community composition was dominated by only a few bacterial species and differed strongly among fruit species. The nectar of pear (b)  was dominated by Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, and Firmicutes, while apple nectar (a) was strongly enriched by Bacteroidetes. Bacterial richness and diversity were found to fluctuate during flowering. AbstractProduction of many agricultural crops and fruits strongly depends on pollinators. For instance, pome fruits such as apple and pear are highly dependent on pollination for fruit set, fruit quality, and yield. Nectar is often inhabited by microbes, most often yeasts and bacteria, which may change nectar quality and therefore also affect plant –pollinator interactions. Here, we used high‐throughput 16S ribosomal RNA gene amplicon sequencing to investigate the temporal and spatial variation in bacterial communities in floral nectar of apple and pear. We sampled 15 apple (Malus xdomestica Borkh.) and 15 pear (Pyrus communis L.) orchards distributed over the eastern part of Belgium over a timespan of seven days. Nectar bacterial community composition differed strongly among fruit species. Nectar of pear was dominated by Actinobacteria, followed by Proteobacteria and Firmicutes. Apple nectar was strongly enriched in Bacteroidetes, a phylum which until now has been found to be rarely associated with floral nectar. Nectar was dominated by only a few bacterial species, withBrevibacterium (Actinobacteria) andUndibacterium (P...

Source: MicrobiologyOpen - August 21, 2019 Category: Microbiology Authors: Jolien Smessaert, Maarten Van Geel, Christel Verreth, Sam Crauwels, Olivier Honnay, Wannes Keulemans, Bart Lievens Tags: ORIGINAL ARTICLE Source Type: research