From Apples And Pumpkins: News From Microbiome Research
How much the composition of the microbiome of apples and pumpkins depends on the geography of the location and what findings can be derived from this for the breeding, health and shelf life of the fruit is shown in two current publications by researchers at TU Graz.
We refer to the microbiome as the community of microorganisms that exist in or on all organisms, including bacteria and fungi. A team from the Institute for Environmental Biotechnology at Graz University of Technology, headed by institute director Gabriele Berg, has now examined the microbiomes of apples and pumpkins in more detail in two independent studies. The researchers have found that bacteria useful for plants are largely “inherited”, i.e. passed on to the next generation, while the community of fungi in the microbiome is heavily dependent on the respective soil microbiome and thus on the location.