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CC BY-NC-ND V4.0, Open Access
Journal article
Fungal communities associated with postharvest strawberries in Western Australia
Plant pathology
2024
Abstract
Spoilage of postharvest strawberries by fungal pathogens is a major global concern. This study employed culture-dependent and culture-independent methods to identify postharvest fungal communities of strawberries in Western Australia (WA). Ripe strawberries from eight varieties were sampled twice, early and late in the growing season, from 20 farms in two growing regions. At the first sampling time, traditional isolation and identification demonstrated a high abundance of Botrytis and Cladosporium in Region 1. Mucor was abundant at the second sampling time in Region 1 and both times in Region 2. Metabarcoding confirmed variety-specific fungal communities in WA strawberries. Botrytis and Cladosporium were predominant in Region 1 and Region 2 samples with more than 50% read abundance except on variety Suncoast. No Mucor sequences were detected using metabarcoding, although they were isolated from all samples using culture-based methods. Sisquoc, a hydroponic variety, had a significantly higher fungal diversity than the soil-grown varieties. Varieties Suncoast and Albion exhibited the lowest fungal diversity compared to others. This study demonstrated the value of using culture-dependent and culture-independent methods to investigate the complexity of fungal microbiomes of postharvest strawberries.
Details
- Title
- Fungal communities associated with postharvest strawberries in Western Australia
- Authors/Creators
- F. Momtaz - Murdoch UniversityGiles Hardy - Murdoch University, Centre for Terrestrial Ecosystem Science and SustainabilityKirsty Bayliss - Murdoch University, Centre for Biosecurity and One Health
- Publication Details
- Plant pathology
- Publisher
- John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Society for Plant Pathology.
- Number of pages
- 10
- Grant note
The authors are grateful to the Agricultural Produce Commission - Strawberry Committee (grant no: APCP1922126) for providing fresh strawberries and funding for this study. The first author thanks the Australian Government for further support through the Research Training Program (RTP). Open access publishing facilitated by Murdoch University, as part of the Wiley - Murdoch University agreement via the Council of Australian University Librarians.
- Identifiers
- 991005707264107891
- Copyright
- © 2024 The Author(s).
- Murdoch Affiliation
- Centre for Crop and Food Innovation; Centre for Terrestrial Ecosystem Science and Sustainability; School of Agricultural Sciences; Centre for Biosecurity and One Health
- Resource Type
- Journal article
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- Citation topics
- 3 Agriculture, Environment & Ecology
- 3.4 Crop Science
- 3.4.413 Postharvest Fruit Quality
- Web Of Science research areas
- Agronomy
- Plant Sciences
- ESI research areas
- Plant & Animal Science