The mature phyllosphere microbiome of grapevine is associated with resistance against Plasmopara viticola

• Published in: Frontiers in microbiology Vol. 14; p. 1149307
• Main Authors: Wicaksono, Wisnu Adi, Morauf, Christina, Müller, Henry, Abdelfattah, Ahmed, Donat, Christina, Berg, Gabriele
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland Frontiers Media S.A 11-04-2023
• Subjects: amplicon 16S rRNA; grapevine; Microbiology; microbiome; phyllosphere; Plasmopara viticola; Plasmopara viticola; phyllosphere; grapevine; microbiome; amplicon 16S rRNA
• ISSN: 1664-302X; 1664-302X
• DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1149307

Phyllosphere microbiota represents a substantial but hardly explored reservoir for disease resistance mechanisms. The goal of our study was to understand the link between grapevine cultivars susceptibility to
one of the most devastating leaf pathogens in viticulture, and the phyllosphere microbiota. Therefore, we analyzed a 16S rRNA gene library for the dominant phyllosphere bacterial phyla
of seven
genotypes at different developmental stages, i.e., flowering and harvesting,
amplicon sequencing. Young leaves had significantly higher Alphaproteobacterial richness and diversity without significant host-specificity. In contrast, the microbial communities of mature leaves were structurally distinct in accordance with
resistance levels. This statistically significant link between mature bacterial phyllosphere communities and resistant phenotypes was corroborated by beta diversity metrics and network analysis. Beyond direct host-driven effects
the provision of microhabitats, we found evidence that plants recruit for specific bacterial taxa that were likely playing a fundamental role in mediating microbe-microbe interactions and structuring clusters within mature communities. Our results on grape-microbiota interaction provide insights for targeted biocontrol and breeding strategies.